


Arresto Momentum

by bob_dylans



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Draco Malfoy Has Issues, Draco Malfoy is a Little Shit, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, He's Trying His Best Okay, Hogwarts Sixth Year, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Character Death, Mutual Pining, Oral Sex, POV Draco Malfoy, POV Original Female Character, Sex, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-06-13 09:04:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 89,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15360999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bob_dylans/pseuds/bob_dylans
Summary: After transferring from Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to Hogwarts, Evie Marsh is in for a sixth year filled with adventure. While she does find good friends among Harry Potter and the students of the Gryffindor house, Evie finds nothing but trouble in regards to a certain Slytherin boy. Draco Malfoy is relentless in his teasing of Evie from the moment they meet, and after an incident ends them paired up as partners in Potions Class, she thinks that she'll never survive. But Evie begins to realize that there's more to Draco then meets the eye. Both of them have dark secrets... secrets that neither want to share. And yet, something keeps bringing them closer and closer together. Still, the changing world they live in soon threatens to tear apart the relationship growing between them. Will the hidden darkness lives within Evie and Draco bring them closer together? Or will it break them apart? One thing is for sure, no spell can keep Evie--or Draco--from falling.





	1. An American in King's Cross Station

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is a bit of an AU, as you will see! I just couldn't seem to find the right tag to label it. Voldemort is pretty much out of the picture in this story, and according to this version of the HP timeline he was defeated by Harry and Dumbledore at the Ministry of Magic at the end of The Order of the Phoenix. (Sadly, Sirius Black is still deceased in this timeline as well.) The horcruxes are still out there, but a special task force of Aurors is hunting for them so that Voldemort can meet his final end. However, Draco still was sworn into the Death Eaters due to pressure from his Aunt Bellatrix, who remains free from Azkaban. 
> 
> (I'm not trying to go against JK Rowling's original timeline because I dislike it, it's just that this timeline I created helped get rid of a number of plot holes and such haha.)
> 
> Enjoy!

**_Evie_ **

Evie Marsh hefted her large suitcase in one hand and her owl cage in the other, gazing up at the King’s Cross Station entrance. She was used to the weight of her luggage after six years of taking it to Ilvermorny, but there was still a slight burn in her arms. Perhaps she should have invested in one of those luggage carts she saw earlier… Evie let out a long sigh. Too late for that now.

Everything here was so much different than in America. With her father’s transfer to the Ministry of Magic in London, the two of them had moved to England. He was an auror after all, and with all the chaos regarding the Dark Lord, the Wizarding World in England needed all the help the could get.

And now here she was, off to Hogwarts, a new student entering during sixth year. Evie cringed just thinking about it. She was sure to be an outsider. Everyone would have friends by now, and certainly wouldn’t bother with the new girl.

She shook her head to clear away her negative thoughts and squared her shoulders. Now wasn’t the time to be pessimistic, but she couldn't seem to stop making gloomy observations.

Ilvermorny had been her home for the last five years, and she was having to leave her closest friends behind. Not only that, but her father had been too busy with work this morning to take her to the train station himself. He had sent her on the Knight Bus. What a ride that had been. And now she was at a complete loss as to where to go.

“I’ll figure this out.” She murmured to her barn owl, Clarence, who was looking at her with large eyes from his cage. The words were more for herself than her bird.

Her train ticket read Platform 9 ¾, but upon reaching the space between Platform 9 and 10, she could see nothing but benches and brick wall. Evie’s shoulders slumped, and she checked her watch worriedly. She only had twenty or so minutes till the train left. Her stomach twisted into knots.

Suddenly, a family consisting of a young girl and her parents pushed by Evie. She stumbled back, watching them carefully. They didn’t look like No-majs to her, based on their odd fashion choices. The father was wearing a pointed hat for crying out loud.

“Come on Dolly, right through there.” The father was saying. Evie listened in. Perhaps they would be her key to locating the elusive Platform 9 ¾ .

The mother was positively starry-eyed. “Oh Arnold, it seems like just yesterday we were first years, doesn’t it? How nostalgic.”

The parents watched as their daughter pushed her luggage cart towards one of the brick walls at a breakneck speed. Evie almost cried out, for the girl was sure to hit the hard surface, but at the last moment the young witch simply went into the wall. Evie felt a relieved smile spread across her face as the parents walked through as well. So that was how it worked.

She followed, stepping confidently through the wall and into Platform 9 ¾. The place was packed with parents and their children, luggage carts, and all kinds of animals. Not to mention the noise. Evie resisted the urge to drop her luggage and cage to clap her hands over her ears. It was so loud here. The screech of metal on metal, the hiss of steam, the chatter of all the wizards and witches...it all echoed off the vaulted ceilings and made her headache. Clarence twittered nervously.

Evie plowed through the crowd, just managing to make it onto the train before the final whistle was blown. A porter took her luggage and Clarence, leaving her alone before the open door of the train. Her heart began to pound and her palms grew sweaty. What now? She stepped in, walking down the aisle. Every compartment seemed packed with students. What was she going to do? She continued down the center hall, praying that she would find a seat.

Upon glancing into a compartment, Evie saw a few empty seats. The students occupying the remaining ones-two boys and a girl-seemed nice enough. They were smiling as they talked… surely that was a good sign. Not to mention that the Hogwarts Express was pulling out of the station, and Evie needed to find a seat or she would end up sprawled on the floor of the hallway at the first lurch of the train.

After a deep breath, she pushed open the sliding door, and poked her head in. The conversation stopped. Evie felt her stomach drop. Maybe she’d picked the wrong compartment after all.

“Hello. I’m Evie Marsh… I’m new and I was wondering if I could sit with you all?” She swallowed hard. “I’m so sorry to intrude, but all the other compartments are full.”

“Of course!” The girl smiled. She had bushy brown hair and kind eyes. “I’m Hermione Granger; sixth year.”

Evie felt a rush of relief, and sat down beside Hermione.

“I’m a sixth year too.” She said. “I’m a transfer student from the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in North America.”

“I was thinking you were a bit tall for a first year.” Smiled one of the boys across from Evie. He had bright red hair and face full of freckles. “I’m Ron Weasley.”

“And I’m Harry Potter.” Said the boy next to Ron. He had a mess dark hair and round glasses. There was a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. Evie’s eyes widened.

“Really? My father’s told me about you! He’s an auror. That’s why we moved, actually. Well, not because of you necessarily,” She blushed. “He was reassigned to the London Ministry of Magic because of… well… you know why.”

Harry nodded.  The battle and defeat of Voldemort at the Ministry of Magic was legendary, and it was all in the news last spring. Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter faced down the Dark Lord himself, and managed to overpower him. He was in Azkaban now, but couldn’t seem to be killed. Many Aurors had died in the process of taking Voldemort in, which was why her father had been called overseas. He told her that she mustn't tell anyone, but he was helping to hunt down objects that would help vanquish the Dark Lord once and for all-which was why Evie had forgiven him for being so distant the past few months. He had a lot on his mind.

“We’re all in Gryffindor… what house were you in at Ilvermorny?” Hermione asked, breaking Evie from her thoughts.

“Oh! I’m a Pukwudgie.” Evie said, warmth blooming inside her at the thought of her house.

Hermione smiled. “The house that is the heart of witches and wizards. It’s said that your house favours healers… are you planning to become one?”

Evie shrugged. “Perhaps… I like Potions, which is a large part of healing, so it is a possibility. My father wants me to become an Auror like him, but I may take after my mother and become a potions master.”

“Well good luck with Potions at Hogwarts.” Ron said with a grimace. “The professor, Snape, is a real git.”

“I’ll say.” Harry chimed in. “He’s always rude to the new students, so he’ll probably single you out for some ridiculous question just so he can give you a load of homework, simply because you’re new.”

Evie frowned. “He does sound horrid.”

“He is… not to mention he’s the head of the Slytherin House.” Ron added, then, “Do you know about all the Hogwarts Houses, Evie?”

Evie nodded. “Yes. My Hogwarts letter said that I would be sorted with the first years. I’ll probably end up in Hufflepuff, if what I’ve researched proves correct.”

“You’d be surprised.” Hermione shrugged. “The Sorting Hat has a mind of its own.”

Harry let out a long sigh. “That’s for sure. But choice does rule into it. Maybe you’ll be in Gryffindor with us!”

Evie laughed. “I don't know. I’m not really the brave type I can imagine your house would look for. But I wouldn’t mind it. I just don’t want to be sorted into Slytherin. They seem ghastly.”

“You got that right.” Ron said. “But I don’t think that’ll be a problem for you.”

The four of them continued talking as the Hogwarts Express chugged merrily along and the scenery whizzed by them in a green blur. Evie found herself drawn to the trio who had so easily welcomed her in, especially Hermione. The other girl could keep up an intelligent conversation regarding just about any topic, and laughed at all of Evie’s bad puns.

When the candy trolley arrived, Ron and Harry bought ridiculously large amounts of sweets. Evie herself had a bad sweet tooth, but didn't want to horrify her new friends by buying fifty candies. Instead, she settled on a chocolate frog, unaware of their jumpy nature. Her shriek of surprise when it hopped into her hand gave their whole compartment a good laugh.

Hermione bought a box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, and shared them with Evie, the two of them laughing every time they ate one of the more disgusting flavors.

“Ugh! This tastes like toothpaste!” Evie grimaced, but laughed all the same. “No wonder we don’t have these in America!”

Hermione grinned. “But the risk is the fun part!”

“Fair enough.” Evie smiled, then said, “Is there a bathroom on the train?”

“Yeah. Go out this door and to the left.” Ron said around a mouthful pumpkin pastie.

Evie thanked him and stood as Hermione shot an annoyed look at the redhead. “Honestly Ronald, you could at least try to have some manners!”

Harry laughed, and Evie smiled as she shut the compartment door behind her. Maybe being new wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“Left to the bathroom…” She muttered, and just as she turned to head in that direction, she bumped into another student and fell to the ground.

 

**_Draco_ **

Draco Malfoy was headed back to his compartment when he ran into something. Not a something, he realized with a cursory glance downward, but a someone.

It was a girl. She looked his age, but he’d never seen her before. Not that she was much to look at. She had long, dirty blonde hair that was braided down her back and a dusting of freckles across her nose. Perfectly ordinary. The girl looked up at Draco, blue eyes wide in surprise.

“I’m so sorry. I should have been looking where I was going and-”

“Yes, you should have. Now would you mind getting out of my way? I don’t have time for mindless apologies.” He stopped her verbal diarrhea right there, not wanting to hear anymore. Her accent was American. A transfer student? Probably a mudblood. What was Hogwarts becoming? It was all Dumbledore’s fault of course. That old git would run the school into the ground.

He watched with a smirk as the girl stood, the scarlet stain on her cheeks darkening. Draco snorted, and passed her by.

“What an asshole.” He heard her mutter, and whirled around.

“What did you say?”

She looked a bit surprised at his outburst, but turned to face him nonetheless. “I said: what an asshole.”

“Well I wasn’t the one loitering in the hallway like a street urchin.”

She snorted, the leash on her anger clearly breaking as she clenched her hands into fists at her sides. “I had just left my compartment! How was I supposed to know you’d be barreling down the hallway?”

“Leave it to an American to not know a thing or two about manners. Let me guess… you’re from Ilvermorny?” Draco sneered, and her brow furrowed.

“Yes. I’m a transfer student. A sixth year actually.” The girl said, glaring up at Draco. He was unaware that the distance between them had shrunk so much until now.

“Oh really? Given your height I would have pegged you as a second year student.” Draco grinned as her face flushed a darker shade of red. She wasn’t that short, only slightly so, but it was clearly a touchy point for her.

“Not like you’re much taller.” She shot back. This, they both knew was false. Draco had a good foot or so on her.

“Touché. I’m so hurt.” He gave her a lazy smile, turned on his heel, and stalked down the hallway.

He could practically hear the American girl fuming behind him. He smirked, and raised his hand to give her a sarcastic wave. Draco didn’t have time to enjoy the satisfaction of making her look foolish though, his left arm smarted, and like a splash of cold water to the face, reality returned to him.

Draco pulled the shirtsleeve on that arm down to his palm. _If only this bloody thing would stop hurting all the damn time…_ He thought, and continued back to his compartment.


	2. Thestrals and Sorting Hats

**_Evie_ **

_Well I guess I’m not a true Hufflepuff after all._ Was all Evie could think as she walked back to her train car after using the bathroom. _But that jerk was asking for it! I can’t help it that I’m clumsy. And honestly, I was the one who fell! If anyone had the right to be angry, it was me!_ She growled under her breath in irritation, and pushed open the compartment door, perhaps a little harder than necessary. Definitely harder than necessary, given the way her new-found friends jumped at the sound.

“Everything all right Evie?” Hermione asked, brows furrowed.

She sat in her seat with a sigh. “I just ran into a nasty piece of work in the hall.”

Ron shot Harry a knowing look. “Let me guess… skinny, pointy face and white blonde hair?”

Evie nodded.

Harry groaned. “That’s Draco Malfoy all right. Honestly, his father is in Azkaban, why does he even bother coming to Hogwarts? He’s practically a Death Eater already.”

“Harry.” Hermione warned, and, turning to Evie, said: “Malfoy is a narcissistic prat who looks for people who get angry with him. Just ignore him and you’ll be fine. He’s not worth any attention to start with.”

“That’s for sure.” Ron snorted. “Rude, mean, and stuck-up. That describes Malfoy in three words. Depends on his dad for everything, and is always horrible to the good teachers. Now that his dad’s in Azkaban though, I’m not sure who he’ll use to get his way.”

“Oh, do stop it Ron.” Hermione sighed. “And come on; it’s time to change into our robes.”

“I’ll make sure to stay out of his path then,” Evie said to the redheaded boy, who nodded solemnly in response.

But little did Evie Marsh know that while she might stay out of his path, Draco Malfoy wasn’t going to stay out of hers.

 

**_Draco_ **

“The horses pulling these carriages are quite odd, aren’t they?” Came an all too familiar voice from ahead of Draco. He rolled his eyes.

That American girl was climbing into the carriage in front of Draco and his friends. He saw her companions and scoffed. She _would_ end up with Potter, Granger and Weasley. She was their type. And she was daft too. There were no horses. The carriages were drawn by magic.

“You can see them Evie?” Granger asked. Evie. So that was her name.

The girl nodded. “Yes. They’re so skeletal and dark. Not to mention the wings.”

“They’re Thestrals.”

“What are those?”

“Well...”

Draco rolled his eyes. Granger was about to go off on one of her many tangents. He’d had to endure her know-it-all attitude for five years, and was very tired of it by now. Still, he was curious to know if there were horses pulling the carriages after all. Granger might be obnoxious, but her facts were rarely incorrect.

Draco climbed up into the carriage with Blaise and Pansy, but sat so that he could hear what was being said in the carriage in front of him. Luckily they weren’t moving yet, or the rattle would have drowned out Granger’s voice.

“Thestrals are a type of winged horse. They’re known as a bad omen because the only witches and wizards who can see them are the ones who have witnessed a death. That’s why I can’t see them.”

Draco’s eyebrows rose. So Evie had seen someone die. He wondered who, but pushed the thought away. Probably just some old, wrinkly relative stuck in a hospital bed with a foot in the grave already. Nothing spectacular. The carriages began to move, and Draco sat back in his seat, tuning in to what Blaise and Parkinson were chuckling about. Something brainless, most likely. He sighed, scratched at his left arm, and turned his attention to Blaise.

 

**_Evie_ **

As Hermione spoke, Evie felt the skin on the back of her neck prickle. Her hands grew clammy in her lap and she swallowed hard.

“I see.” She murmured, trying and failing to give Hermione a smile. The dark memories were there again. Pushing, pushing, pushing. She took a deep breath and slammed down the lump in her throat. Now wasn’t time to think about _that._ There was never a time to think about _that_ , but certainly not now. She couldn’t act like a traumatised child in front of her new acquaintances or she was sure to scare them off.

“I can see them too, Evie,” Harry said, pulling her from her thoughts. “You’re not the only one.”

Evie nodded, and gave him a weak smile. “I figured as much, but it’s nice to hear you say it. Thanks Harry.”

He gave her a grin, ducking his head as he did so. Evie felt something flutter in her chest when his green eyes met hers. She looked at her hands in embarrassment, then said:

“It was my mother, actually. She’s probably the reason I can see the Thestrals.” Evie looked up to see Harry watching her again. She realized with a shock that he knew how she felt. He had lost not only his mother, but his father as well. She swallowed hard and continued. “She protected me with her life, and gave me the strength to fight back against…” Evie, desperate not to think about that night, finished lamely, “To fight back.”

Harry looked sad, but relieved at the same time. As if he had finally found another who understood the sacrificial love of a mother in its rawest form. “I understand what you mean.”

They sat in silence for a few moments as the carriage rumbled on, until Hermione cried, “Look Evie! Hogwarts!”

Evie shot up in her seat, leaning over the edge of the carriage in order to catch a glimpse of the castle as they rounded the bend in the road. And then there it was, lit up in the night like a beacon. Evie gasped. It was so much bigger than Ilvermorny. She didn’t bother talking to the others, she merely drank in the sight of the castle as it grew closer and closer. _Hogwarts._ She was finally here.

 

**_Draco_ **

Draco watched as Evie leaned out of the carriage like an idiot to get a better look at Hogwarts. A twinge of remorse shot through him despite his best efforts, however. There was so much wonder and excitement in her face. He remembered the feeling, how simple it all had been back when he was a first year. It wasn’t that way anymore. The mark that rested heavy on his left arm was proof of that.

“Look at that prat!” Pansy snorted. “Haven’t seen anyone act that stupid at the sight of Hogwarts past first year before. She’d be a good partner for Loony Lovegood.”

Blaise craned his neck in order to get a better look at Evie. “She does look like a sixth year though, but I haven’t seen her around before.”

“She’s a transfer student in our year from bloody Ilvermorny.” Draco said, causing the pair to turn and look at him. “Nearly knocked me over on the train. Couldn’t see where she was going. She’ll probably be sorted into Gryffindor, by the looks of it.”

Blaise frowned. “Why do you say that?”

“She was as easily provoked as Weasley. And just as daft too.”

“What a tosser.” Parkinson grinned maliciously. “I bet we’ll get a lot of mileage out of her if she’s as much like the Weasel as you say she is.”

“Of course she’s a loser. She’s been with Potter and Granger since we left the station.” Draco drawled. “But really, there are better things to talk about.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?” Pansy asked.

He sneered. “Your mum.”

“Sod off Malfoy. We’re not first years anymore.” Pansy groaned, and Blaise laughed.

Draco settled back into his seat. Perhaps this year wouldn’t be as hard as he thought.

 

**_Evie_ **

Because she was a new student and didn’t have a house, Evie was forced to stand with the first years in the hall as they waited to enter the banquet and be sorted into. Not that she minded too much. They were as excited to be at Hogwarts as she was. But they were just so talkative. So she settled with nods and vague “yeahs” in response to the kids sitting around her.

An older woman with glasses and a pointed hat had instructed them on how the Sorting Ceremony would go. Her name was Professor McGonagall, if Evie heard her correctly. Then they were off to the Great Hall, with Evie in the back sticking out like a sore thumb. She felt her face turn darker shades of red the closer their group neared the banquet. Everyone would be watching her, the awkward transfer student. She wanted to melt into the floor. There was nothing she hated more than attention.

She followed the first years in front of her as she entered the Great Hall. It was massive, with arched ceilings and candles suspended in midair. High above her head Evie saw what looked to be the night sky, with stars wheeling across a velvety blue expanse. She then took a glance at all the students watching-and wished she hadn’t.

It felt as if every person in the room was looking at her. Evie was short, but it was clear that she wasn’t a first year. She kept her eyes in front of her, and prayed she didn’t do something idiotic like trip. That was the last thing she needed.

Their group finally came to a halt at the front of the hall. Evie stood, trying not to shift from foot to foot. She felt the eyes of the students on her back and the eyes of the teachers on her face. Her palms began to sweat and she wiped them discreetly on her robes. Professor McGonagall walked up to an older man with a bushy white beard and half moon glasses. Evie could have sworn he glanced at her and winked, but perhaps it was a trick of the light. The older man came forward with a smile.

“And so,” He said in a deep and sonorous voice that seemed to reverberate throughout the hall, “We come to begin yet another year at Hogwarts. So many new faces, both in regards to teachers and students. It is my delight to inform you all that Professor Remus Lupin will be returning as our Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. It is good to have him back is it not?”

The hall broke out into cheers, especially from the Gryffindor table, as a weary looking man covered in scars stood from his seat at the head table before sitting. He had kind eyes, Evie noted. She had a feeling she would like him.

“Now, to begin one of Hogwarts’ most honored traditions. The sorting of the first years into their houses. Minerva, if you would do the honors.” He gave a warm smile to the grey haired woman, who had come forward with an ancient looking hat in one hand and a scroll of parchment in the other.

Professor McGonagall set the hat upon a stool and turned to the first years-and Evie. “Now when I call your name, you will come and sit here. I shall place the sorting hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses. Now first off…” She consulted the long roll of parchment in her hand. “Morgana Abbott.”

And so it went, nervous looking first years sitting and having their houses called. Evie didn’t think that she would be nervous, but the fewer the number of students remaining in front of her was, the harder her heart seemed to pound.

At last, it was just Evie standing before McGonagall as a young boy scampered off to Ravenclaw. She swallowed hard.

“And this year we have a special treat!  A transfer student all the way from the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in North America- Evie Marsh.”

With feet that felt more like blocks of lead, Evie walked to the stool where the sorting hat was. She felt the attention of every person in the room upon her, and it did nothing to abate the formation of sweat on her palms. Honestly, why did they always seem to do that? She took her seat, heart going a mile a minute.

The moment the sorting hat sat upon her head, Evie felt a presence with her. She shivered, and closed her eyes.

_Ah… a smart mind. And-hmmm let me see here-a rather riotous temper. I have not had a transfer student before. Your Pukwudgie origins and fierce loyalty to those you love point to Hufflepuff, and yet there is too much pride in you. Perhaps to Gryffindor you should go..._

As the sorting hat whispered these things into Evie’s ear, she frowned. _But I’m not brave the way Gryffindors are. They’re brave. I’m not._

She felt the hat tighten on her head, and resisted the urge to clench her fists. The hat purred, _you say you are not brave, and yet I see a young girl… raising her mother’s wand…_

“Stop.” Evie bit out, this time aloud. “Those are my memories. Leave them alone.”

 _As you wish._ Purred the hat. _You say that you are not brave my dear, but we shall see. Yessss, we shall see about that soon enough._

And with a shudder, the hat cried out- “Gryffindor!”

 

**_Draco_ **

Draco watched scornfully as Potter and his friends burst into applause when the sorting hat called out the name of their house. It was no surprise Marsh was ending up there. How pathetic. And yet, the hat had taken a surprisingly long amount of time to sort her. The girl herself looked pale and wobbly as she sat down beside Granger. Draco couldn’t help but wonder why.


	3. The Potions Master

**_Evie_ **

Evie adjusted her bag on her shoulder, and headed out the door to her first class. It was Potions. She felt a smile spread across her face and stay there, even as she descended down flight after flight of stairs with Harry, Ron, and Hermione to get to class. The stairs at Hogwarts moved! Evie was a little bit starry-eyed over that. It was like being on an amusement park ride-but as part of her daily routine.

The girls in her house and year seemed nice enough too, but Hermione was certainly the person Evie liked the most. Her and Ginny, who was a year below. Not to mention Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw who had introduced herself to Evie by announcing what a large amount of  Wrackspurts she had in her ears. Luna offered to remove them, but Evie refused. She had met the boys in her year as well. Seamus, Dean, and Neville. She liked Neville a lot. He had kind eyes.

And so she sat next to Neville at the start of Potions, who looked rather pale. He kept glancing around the dungeon classroom as if some monster would appear. Evie remembered Ron mentioning how awful Professor Snape was, so she gave Neville a smile to cheer him up.

“Potions is my favorite subject, so don’t worry. I can be your partner and we’ll have fun! I promise.” She told him, and Neville gave her a wobbly grin in return.

“I don’t know Evie.” The smile faded quickly as he spoke. “You haven’t met Professor Snape yet.”

“I’m sure it won’t be long till I do.” She responded. “It is getting rather close to when class is supposed to start though… shouldn’t he be here by now?”

“Perhaps…” Said a droning and cold voice, “If you were paying more attention, you would have seen me enter three minutes ago.”

Neville froze beside Evie, and she turned to see a tall man with a greasy mop of black hair and a hooked nose standing by her desk. She felt her face flush. So this was Professor Snape.

 

**_Draco_ **

Having watched her since she entered his potions class, Draco looked on in delight as Snape strode slowly over to where Marsh sat, chattering away with that clod Longbottom. The moment the potions professor had seen the smile on her face and the beginnings of one on the boy next to her, Snape’s expression turned stormy.

The moment he stopped before Marsh’s seat, the class began to quiet down. The daft American didn’t seem to notice however, and continued to chat with Longbottom.

“Perhaps…” Snape began, and Marsh started in surprise, “If you were paying more attention, you would have seen me enter three minutes ago.”

Draco snorted as she turned to look up at him, a slight blush blooming on her cheeks. Honestly, this girl had problems with that. Her face was always turning red. Though she didn’t look as terrified as Longbottom did, just surprised and embarrassed. The whole class was tuning in now, curious to see how Snape would humiliate the new transfer student.

“I’m sorry Professor.” She murmured, glancing at her hands. Her American accent was painfully obvious, Draco noted.

Snape harrumphed, and continued to make his way to the front of the classroom. “Welcome to Sixth Year Potions Class. I am unsure of why so many of you decided to return, considering your grades at the end of last year. If you think that I am going to go any easier on you this year; you are wrong and do not belong in this class.”

Draco lounged in his seat, growing bored. He expected more from the head of Slytherin. But then, Snape was serpent-like, waiting for the correct moment to strike. And it soon came.

“Today we will be brewing Herbicide Potion.” He said. “The brewing instructions can be  found on page 304 of your textbook. If you do not have a textbook, you can leave this class right now. You have no place here if you cannot manage to bring a book in.”

Snape sent Marsh a pointed glance, but she was pulling out her textbook. Severus didn’t give up that easily, and he watched Evie like a hawk as she and Longbottom began to gather the ingredients for their batch of Herbicide.

“Miss Marsh.” He called, and Evie stiffened.

“Yes Professor?”

“Mr. Longbottom will work with Miss. Granger. Merlin knows he needs all the help he can get.” Neville flushed crimson at this. “I would like to see how proficient the potion master at Ilvermorny is. Today you work alone.”

Rather than going pale and running from the dungeon as other students may have done, Marsh simply nodded, picked up her textbook, and headed to the nearest empty cauldron. Draco kept an eye on her as he began his potion alongside Blaise. She was going to slip up, he could feel it. And he didn’t want to miss when it happened.

 

**_Evie_ **

If Snape was trying to intimidate her-or embarass her in front of her new classmates-Evie wasn’t going to stand idly by. She pulled her hair up into a messy bun, just as her mother had always done, rolled up her sleeves, and got to work. This potion was simple enough, but the ingredients were ghastly. Lionfish spines, horklump juice, flobberworm mucus… she wrinkled her nose in distaste.

“Problem with the ingredients?” Of course Snape had seen her disgust. Evie turned to face him, suppressing a sigh. She had felt his eyes boring into her back for the past fifteen minutes, waiting for a slip up.

She lifted her chin and said, “No Professor.”

“Perhaps you could enlighten the class on what other famous potion lionfish spines are used in, Miss Marsh. Surely Ilvermorny managed to cover that in their potion classes.” There was smug look on his face. The rest of the class had turned to watch their exchange, ready to see the drama about to unfold.

Evie smiled inwardly, as usual, she was being underestimated. For some reason, it was a common view that potions weren’t a subject witches were skilled in. It was time to debunk that idea.

She said, “Lionfish have extremely long and separated spines. Crushed into a powder, these spines can be used in healing potions, such as the Wiggenweld Potion.”

Snape’s brows furrowed. “Name the the purpose and key ingredients for that potion.”

Evie thanked Merlin that she had grown up with a potions master for a mother and that it was her best subject. Had Snape been her Professor for any other classes (Defense Against the Dark Arts not included) she would have been sunk. However, it seemed that luck was in her favor.

“The Wiggenweld Potion is a healing potion with the power to awaken a person from a magically-induced sleep, which gives it the ability to reverse the effects of the Draught of Living Death. It’s ingredients include Salamander Blood, Wolfsbane-” Evie rattled off the ingredients, but Snape cut her off.

“And where, Miss Marsh, would one find Wolfsbane?”

It went on like this for nearly ten minutes. For every question Evie answered correctly, Snape had a follow up or a wholly unrelated query for her. Not only that, but she had to continue to brew her batch of herbicide as well. Multi-tasking in potions was risky to say the least, and Evie felt her strength beginning to flag. Thankfully for her, Seamus and Dean had a mishap involving the Flobberworm mucus at their station, and Snape stalked over to reprimand them, leaving Evie alone--but not for long.

Her shoulders slumped the moment Snape left. Evie wearily set her potion to brew for the allotted time the instructions called for and sank onto her stool.

“It seems that Granger has a competitor for most obnoxious know-it-all in our year.” An all too familiar voice jeered.

Draco. She could sense him beside her. Evie refused to raise her eyes from her textbook, replying, “Doesn’t your potion need tending to?”

“Of course not” He scoffed. “I was done ages ago.”

“Good for you.” Evie responded dryly. She was not going to engage in a battle of wits with Draco now. The last thing she needed to do was blow up at Malfoy in front of Snape and give both of them the ammunition they needed to make her look like a fool.

She turned a page of her textbook, noting with satisfaction that Malfoy was growing upset with her refusal to acknowledge him.

“But really Marsh… Hermione and you may have to duel for the coveted position of our year’s biggest boffin.”

“I hate to disappoint you, but I’m rubbish at all my other subjects. I _wish_ I had Hermione's marks.” Evie finally looked up at Draco, and gave him a sarcastic grin. “Alas, not everyone can depend on their father to make sure their grades stay perfect.”

Her grin turned smug as Draco’s face turned dark with anger. Evie remembered with a pang of guilt that Draco’s father was in Azkaban, but she ignored the feeling. He was being a jerk, and his father was in prison because of his actions.

“You watch your mouth Marsh.” He hissed. “Be glad that I don’t plan on writing home about you. I could have you sent back to your backwater school Ilvermorny with a snap of my fingers, but I don’t care to waste the ink. Figures you can’t do anything in your other classes. I’m not surprised since your school was founded by a filthy Muggle.”

The words unraveled something inside her chest. Evie shut her book with a snap as she stood to face Malfoy. “The correct term is No-Maj. And it was part-founded. I’d choose your next words very carefully. My mother was No-Maj born.”

“She was? That’s rich. Your mother _would_ be a mudblood.” Draco grinned. “Your lack of a brain makes so much more sense now-”

That was a far as he got before Evie backhanded him across the face-hard. The class fell silent as Draco stumbled back, nearly knocking over his and Blaise’s cauldron over.

“You little-” He snarled, the blood rushing to the surface of his pale skin.

Evie felt herself vibrating with anger. “Say that word again Malfoy and it won’t be my hand hitting you but a jinx.”

“Is that a threat?”

“That is _enough!_ ” Snape snarled, breaking between the two of them. “It seems that both you and Mr. Malfoy have decided to disrupt my class. Since the pair of you are my most knowledgeable potion students- and are _such_ good friends-you will be partners in this class for the rest of the year.”

“You’ve got to be joking!” Draco protested, while Evie remained silent, knowing that if she did speak, the only thing coming out of her mouth would be a curse of the unforgivable  nature--directed at Malfoy.

“Do I look like I’m joking?” Snape deadpanned, and just as he said that, the bells signalling the end of class chimed. “Class dismissed.”


	4. The Broomstick Incident

**_Evie_ **

By lunch it seemed that the whole of Hogwarts knew about the transfer student who had slapped Draco Malfoy during Potions class. Ron was thrilled by Evie’s actions, as was the rest of Gryffindor really, but she was frustrated by the attention. Honestly, her temper was going to get her into more serious trouble one of these days.

She made a point to lay low for the rest of the day, avoiding Malfoy in the classes they shared by sitting with all her Gryffindor friends. Evie felt a bit apologetic for her violent outburst, but then she would remember that Draco had called her mother a mudblood and the guilt washed away like water down a drain.  

As the weeks went on, Evie began to fall back into the habits she had developed at Ilvermorny. She began skipping classes she deemed boring at least once a week, such as History of Magic and Astronomy. Herbology was fun because she liked plants, and it was fun to see Neville get so excited about them, but some days she would lose track of time sketching or reading and not go. Charms and Transfiguration were alright, so she tried not to miss them, but if she felt called to be alone of putter around the halls of the castle or read in the library, Evie would simply not show up.

Potions was another thing entirely. Evie did her best to ignore Draco Malfoy, but he was rather hard to miss. Especially since he sat next to her and was constantly teasing her. The slapping seemed to have dealt with any comments about her mother or her half-blood status, but he still had lots to say. From the way she mixed potions to what shoes she wore to haughty comments about his superiority, Draco’s never ending onslaught was beginning to drive Evie insane. On a good day she managed to ignore him, but on bad days Potions class became a verbal sparring match. She and Draco were smart enough to keep quiet when Snape was around, though. As much as they loathed each other, neither wanted to end up in detention.

It took awhile for the teachers to start catching on to the fact that Evie missed class so often, because she did the homework and made sure not to miss a class more than once a week. Hermione seemed somewhat disappointed that, aside from Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts, Evie really didn’t care much about schoolwork. It was when she realized how much Evie was skipping however, that she became frantic with worry over Evie’s grades.

“You can’t just not show up to class!” Hermione exclaimed one afternoon as the two of them sat on Evie’s bed working through Potions homework. “One of these days Dumbledore will call you to his office--you could be expelled!”

“The classes I miss have teachers who always forget to mention the issue to McGonagall or Dumbledore. I mean, Professor Binns has never spoken to me about the issue, and Professor Sinistra is always too caught up in the stars to report me. Snape would be the one to do that, and I’m always in Potions.”

Hermione nodded. “I suppose you’re right, but you’re tempting fate. One of these days someone is going to report this and you’ll end up in heaps of trouble.”

Hermione was right, as usual. At last Evie’s class skipping was brought to attention and she was spoken to. But not by the person she expected.

It happened one afternoon when she was skipping History of Magic to sit in the owlery and draw. She hadn’t spent enough time with Clarence lately, so she snuck off after Potions to visit him. Stopping to grab her sketchbook, Evie ignored Hermione’s pleas to go with her to class and dashed down the hall, robes flapping behind her.

Up in the owlery, Evie sat on the floor with her back against the wall. She sketched the owls around her, varying the positions for each. As she worked, she talked to Clarence about her first few weeks at Hogwarts. Eventually the conversation turned to the bane of her existence: Draco Malfoy.

“Honestly Clarence, he really is the worst,” She complained to her owl, who sat on her shoulder, observing her while she drew. “Arrogant and rude…he’s making Potions a nightmare, and it’s my favorite class! I’m getting really tempted to slap him again.”

“Well let’s hope you don’t do that.” Said a voice. “It caused quite the stir among your peers the first time, don’t you think?”

Evie started, looking up to see Dumbledore standing in the doorway of the owlery. He had a warm smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. Evie scrambled to her feet, brushing straw off her skirt as she did so. Clarence let out an indignant squawk, launching himself off of Evie’s shoulder and flying upwards to his perch.

“H-headmaster!” Was all she could muster, her face turning red. “I wasn’t expecting to see you up here.”

Dumbledore grinned. “I assumed so. It has come to my attention that you skip classes on a regular basis. Would you mind telling me why?”

Evie shrugged. “I mean no disrespect Headmaster, but sometimes I feel as if the castle is calling me to explore it, or a certain book in the library is begging for my attention. I lose track of time really, and forget about class if I become wrapped up in what I’m doing. If not that I don’t go because I feel as thought I could use my time in a better manner.”

“Was this a habit you developed at Ilvermorny?”

Evie nodded, and the older man smiled.

“It seems that you do have an adventurous spirit, as well as a bit of contempt for rules. I can think of a group of boys from years ago who would have loved your company. But while you feel that other activities may be more beneficial than going to class, you would be surprised. Perhaps the lessons you miss are the ones that could have been the most impactful.” Dumbledore said this with no judgement in his voice, but Evie felt scolded all the same.

She hugged her sketchbook to her chest. “I’m sorry Headmaster. You’re right; my excuses aren’t good ones. It’s just...I feel so restless sometimes.”

Dumbledore considered her words. “I think I may have a solution to your problem. One that doesn’t involve skipping class.”

Evie felt a smile spread across her face. “What did you have in mind?”

 

**_Draco_ **

It was the day before the Halloween Feast, and Draco watched in disgust as Marsh and Potter laughed together as they worked together in Defense Against the Dark Arts just a few rows in front of him. The two were so high and mighty in this class, with their fully fledged Patronuses. Potter’s was that obnoxious buck, and Marsh’s was a fox. Honestly. The two of them made him sick. They might as well just go off and snog. They had plenty in common-all that pride and all those sob stories. Perfect couple material.

The most infuriating part was, for the life of him, Draco couldn’t seem to produce a fully fledged patronus. He avoided Defense Against the Dark Arts as much as he could, faking a cold or simply ditching to try and produce one in secret. He didn’t want to be subject to the scorn of his other classmates. Not to mention Professor Lupin was back. Which meant the Boggart exercise would probably be brought back as well. And Draco _did not_ want to be in class that day.

Smiling at something Potter said, Marsh stuck her wand into her messy bun that piled her hair atop her head in order to write something down. She was always doing that, Draco had noted; sticking her wand in her hair or behind her ear to do something else. That and smiling. How anyone could always have a happy expression on their face all day was beyond Draco. She just seemed to be in constant high spirits.

What a piece of work. Draco found her more fun to torment than Potter, though he wasn’t sure why. Perhaps it was the delightful shade of red her face turned when she grew mad, or the way her fists clenched and unclenched when she was really furious. It was nice to see her pompous attitude and ever-present smile disappear for once as she grew more and more upset with him.

But there was one thing that bugged him the most. Despite her know-it-all attitude, clumsiness, and bad choice of friends, Marsh was very talented at magic. She missed classes on a regular basis-Draco learned she wasn’t there simply because she didn’t _feel_ like it-but Marsh never seemed to fall behind in any of them.

Draco found that when he wasn’t teasing her, thinking about Marsh only made him angry. He would pace about the Slytherin commons in a foul temper, jinxing anyone who commented on his state. Evening throwing himself into Quidditch didn’t work, despite the fact that the first match between Slytherin and Gryffindor was tomorrow. He couldn’t escape her, even there. Or so he soon found out.

It was that afternoon, and Draco was headed to Quidditch practice. He heard yelps and whoops from the grounds that _did not_ sound Slytherin in nature. Walking to the stands, he climbed a few steps to get a better look.

Out on the Quidditch field were Potter, Granger, Weasley, and Marsh. The four looked like they were having a good time, which made Draco want to gag. It seemed that Potter was teaching Marsh how to ride a broom. Weasel was already up in the air on his, with Granger watching from the ground. Potter was helping Marsh onto a broom, with his lying a few paces away. Draco scoffed. Evie was white as a sheet, clutching the broomstick with both hands, legs wrapped tight around the shaft. There was a look of determination on her face though, and she kicked off. Marsh let out a scream, but it soon turned to laughter.

Potter followed her up in the air, laughing as she struggled to turn and adjust her speed. Granger yelped everytime Marsh took a sharp turn, even though she was barely ten feet off the ground. Draco snorted in annoyance. Potter needed to take her up higher if he was really going to teach her anything worthwhile. Gryffindor’s own seeker couldn’t teach a girl how to ride a bloody broom.

The sight of all of them laughing and speeding around, sent an odd ache pulsing through his chest. Draco slammed down his jealousy. He was a Malfoy. What the hell was he jealous of? A sappy friendship like that Potter, Weasley, Granger, and Marsh shared? Of course not. They were disgusting. Their sentimental attitudes made him want to vomit.

Even if he did want to be friends with Marsh (which would _never_ be a reality), Draco knew he couldn’t do what he wanted. The thing on his left arm was a constant reminder of that.As he turned to go, Draco couldn’t help but take one last look at Evie, who was soaring upwards on her broom, blonde braid whipping behind her. Potter and Weasley were flying towards the outskirts of the field, calling for Marsh to follow. She was gaining more and more height-confidence too, it seemed, given the smile growing on her face.

Draco began walking towards the locker rooms once more. Suddenly, a gust of wind swept across the field, and there was a scream of horror. Granger. Whirling around, Draco watched as Marsh lost control of her broom and slid off. Granger was searching her robes, clearly looking for her wand-she couldn’t seem to find it. Potter and Weasley were speeding back towards Evie, but Draco realized with a sickening lurch that they’d never make it in time.

He didn’t know what came over him after that. All he knew was that one minute he heard Evie let out a scream of terror and the next minute _he_ was running out onto the field, pulling his wand from his pocket as he did so.

“ _Arresto Momentum_!” Draco roared, and Marsh jerked in the air as his spell slowed her descent. That idiot. What the hell was she thinking? Evie Marsh was the most reckless girl he had ever met.

Granger turned, eyes going wide as she took him in. Draco continued walking forward, so that when Evie finally landed, he was right beside her. She teetered, clearly unsteady.

“You idiot!” He snarled, grabbing her narrow shoulders before she could slump to the ground. “What the bloody hell were you thinking? It’s windy out- why did you choose now of all times to start learning to ride a broom? What the hell do they teach you at Ilvermorny?”

Evie looked up at him, eyes wide and glassy. Her face was pale and she was trembling. Draco was sure that if he let go of her shoulders, she would fall to the ground. “Malfoy? What…?”

“You fell off your broom you git. I saved your life.” He snorted. “Honestly Marsh, you’re becoming a real pain in the ass.”

He heard Granger running towards them, crying out Evie’s name as she did so. Draco realized that he was gripping her shoulders rather tightly. He loosened his hold, looking down at Evie once more. With a start, he noticed for the first time how blue her eyes were. So very blue. He could drown in them.

“Malfoy!” Granger was upon them, “Let go of her!”

“No, no… it’s alright.” Marsh murmured, dazed. “He saved my life.”

Draco released her, allowing Evie to be encircled into Granger’s embrace.

“You scared me half to death.” The bushy haired girl said, voice shaking. “I’m so glad you’re alright.”

“Evie!” Called another voice. “Are you alright?”

Potter had landed, and he and Weasley ran towards the two girls. Draco decided it was time for him to leave. Without another word, he stalked off across the Quidditch field. Honestly, now he was going to be late for practice. He should have let Marsh fall; it would have saved him heaps of trouble. But if he was honest with himself, Draco didn’t truly feel that way.

He glanced back at the group, who was now surrounding Evie, making sure she was alright. He could hear their chatter from here, and he was nearly off the field. Draco wished they would shut up. Evie turned her head just then, and their eyes met. An unknown feeling rushed through him, and he hurried away.

 

* * *

 

“Malfoy.”

Draco was headed back to his dorm after Quidditch when he heard a voice call out to him. He turned. Evie was climbing down from a window ledge a few paces behind him, a book of some kind in her hands.

He sneered. “What do you want Marsh? Come to thank me for my heroic act this afternoon?”

“Actually yes. That’s why I was waiting for you.” Her voice was even.

“Great. Now you’re not only annoying, but a stalker too.” Draco said, but Marsh ignored the rude remark.

“Really. Thank you. You saved my life.” She couldn’t seem to look at him, and he noticed her cheeks were slightly pink. A grin spread across his face.

“Oh I bet you love this.” Draco smirked. “ A Gryffindor thanking a Slytherin. I’m surprised your pride allowed for it.”

“You’re a git.” Marsh snorted, but there wasn’t any anger behind the statement. She turned and began to walk down the hall.

“A git that saved your life!” Draco called after her.

Evie looked back at him with a baleful look. “Well, I’m starting to regret your heroic actions now.”

 

_**Evie** _

“I just can’t believe it was Malfoy who stopped your fall. He saved your life!” Hermione exclaimed that night as they sat on her bed, sharing a bag of Jelly Slugs. Her face fell. “I’m so sorry. I tried to help, but in my panic I couldn’t find my wand in my robes.”

“You don’t have to apologise Hermione.” Evie said, smacking her on the back of the head with a slug before taking a bite of it. “You couldn’t have known that was going to happen. And besides, it all turned out alright.”

“I suppose. But what does this mean about Malfoy?”

“What do you mean?”

Hermione shrugged. “He’s a right git, but he did save your life. Harry and Ron will never agree with me on this, but I think somewhere down deep-very deep-in his soul there is good. I mean, there has to be if he saved you.”

“He did what any wizard or witch would have done.” Evie chewed slowly on her candy. “But now he’s going to use that against me. I can feel it. Ugh, I’m never going to hear the end of it. How I fell off my broom and how he saved me. It’s just one more thing to tease me about.”

Hermione laughed. “You’re right about that I’m afraid. You’ll just have to catch him doing something embarrassing so you have a way to tease him back.”

“Or I could just turn him into a weasel.” Evie grinned, remembering a story from Harry’s fourth year he had told her.

“That’s true. But I don’t want you getting expelled for something as stupid as that!” Hermione chuckled, and whacked Evie with a jelly slug.

“Maybe you’re right.” Evie said, a few moments later. “Maybe there is some good in him… deep deep down. I guess I do tease him rather harshly, even if he does the same. I need to stop fighting fire with fire. Maybe I should just try to treat him decently.”

“Good luck with that. He may have saved your life, but he still is Draco Malfoy.” Her friend pointed out.

“Fair enough.”

They stayed up late that night, well after the other girls had gone to bed. Hermione cast a silencing charm around her bed so they could be as loud as they wanted without waking anyone. It was nice to have a friend so adept at magic. It certainly made life easier. She had friends back at Ilvermorny, but something about Hermione just felt right.   
“I think we were meant to become friends.” Evie said later on, when there was a lull in the conversation. The jelly slug bag had gone empty a long while ago, and the hour was growing late. “I think you’re fantastic.”

“Thanks.” Hermione smiled. “It’s nice to have a close friend who’s not a boy. Honestly, Harry and Ron can be so dramatic sometimes.”

Evie laughed. “We can’t blame them too much though. They’re teenage boys. They’re idiots.”

“You’re right about that. Come on, let’s get to bed. The Halloween Feast is tomorrow. We may have classes shortened, but its nearly two am!” Hermione said with a yawn.

“Let’s stay up.” Grinned Evie, just to tease her. “We can just sleep through our first class of the day.”

“Haha, very funny,” snorted her friend. “Dumbledore said that you’d get a detention if you did that again. And besides, flying lessons are sure to be taking care of your restless side-especially after today.”

“I’ll say.” Evie replied. “Dumbledore knows what he’s doing, that’s for sure.”

“Well of course he does. He’s Dumbledore.”

 _I wonder if he could have known that Draco Malfoy would save me from falling off my broom,_ Evie pondered later as she stared up at the canopy of her bed. _No… no one could predict that. Especially because of Draco…_

Evie’s thoughts were on him when she fell asleep, and her dreams were full of pale skin, blue-grey eyes, and white-blonde hair.


	5. Halloween

**_Draco_  **

Storming down the hallway, Draco Malfoy’s glare was enough to send underclassmen in his way scrambling to get out of it. He had slept through his alarm, and none of his bloody roommates had woken him up. Now he was going to be late for Potions. Snape was going to skin him alive.

Footsteps came pounding behind him, and there was Evie Marsh, walking next to Draco and looking about as disheveled as he felt inwardly. Her hair was barely contained in her bun, strands of it escaping and falling into her eyes. Not only was her wand stuck in her mess of golden hair this morning, but a quill too.

“Good morning Draco.” She gave him a sleepy smile, and he nearly tripped over his own two feet in shock-at both the smile and the use of his first name. “Did you sleep late too?”

“You have ink on your cheek.” Was all he could seem to manage as the two of them hurried down the stairs to the Potions classroom.

“Oh.” Marsh scrubbed at her face with her hand and smiled ruefully. “I doubt it’ll come off now if it didn’t come off earlier today.”

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Draco asked shortly. “I didn’t think you even had them to begin with.”

Marsh laughed. “They come and go. Mostly go, when you're concerned.”

“Then why, may I ask, is it not fleeing in my presence?”

There was that damn smile again. “It’s Halloween! My favorite holiday next to Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

“What the bloody hell is Thanksgiving?”

She smiled. “It’s an American No-Maj tradition, but the Wizarding World celebrates it too. We eat food and get together with our families. It started back when Europeans first came to America.”

“Sounds stupid.”

“I guess, but it’s a holiday for eating food, so I can’t complain.” Marsh said, slowing her walk as they neared the door to Snape’s classroom. Her grin faded. “Crap. He’s going to kill us for being so late.”

“Chin up Marsh.” Draco snorted, giving her shoulder a shove. “I’d hate for you to lose that good mood of yours. It’s Halloween after all.”

 

**_Evie_  **

Evie hadn’t thought about what people would think of her and Draco Malfoy arriving together-and ten minutes late-to Potions. That is, until Malfoy swung open the door. Then she realized how disheveled she looked. A side-eyed glance at Draco showed the same. His hair wasn’t as slicked back as it normally was, most likely because he had overslept, and it fell messily into his eyes. Evie thought it looked better that way.

 _What the hell am I thinking? “It looks better that way”? I really am sleepy. I didn’t eat breakfast either… probably delirious too._ She thought.

The sound of the door opening had all the students in the room turning their head to look at the pair, and Evie felt her face go red instantly. Draco snorted, stalking to his seat with long strides.

“Mr. Malfoy. Miss Marsh. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Snape had turned from his chalkboard to look at them with an unimpressed expression.

“Sorry Professor.” Evie murmured, hurrying to her seat.

Draco of course, managed to get by without an apology, and was already settled in his seat next to Blaise, a smirk on his face.

“Oh sod off.” He said to his friend.“We weren’t snogging, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Evie, who was sliding into her seat next to Neville, nearly fell out of it. Draco had not spoken in a quiet voice, and the class erupted into laughter. Evie buried her red face in her hands.

Snape assigned them to create a dreamless sleep potion, and sent the class to work. To Evie’s immense surprise, Draco didn’t torment her that day. He asked more questions about Thanksgiving, and Halloween as well. It wasn’t as big of a holiday in England, Evie soon realized. Of course he teased her as they worked, but it was lighthearted. She wondered if her good mood had rubbed off on him.

“You forgot your hair gel I see.” Evie snorted at one point when Draco was pushing his white-blonde hair out of his face for what seemed like the one hundredth time.

“At least my hair is normally manageable.” He shot back with a smirk. “You always have things stuck in yours.”

“It’s convenient!”

“And a bag isn’t?”

She laughed, and Draco smiled. He never smiled when they were together-at least not genuinely. It was a welcome change.

The class went by quickly, and Evie noticed that most of the boys were discussing the Quidditch match that afternoon between Gryffindor and Slytherin. She turned to Draco, who was chopping up sage.

“Are you playing in the match this afternoon?”

“Yes. It probably won’t be hard though.” He smirked. “Not like Gryffindor stands a chance against us.

Evie ignored the jibe. “You’re a seeker aren’t you?”

“Yes… but how did you know?”

“How do you think?” Evie smiled. “All Harry and Ron ever talk about is quidditch.”

At the mention of her two other friends, Draco’s expression went stormy. Evie winced. Draco and Harry didn’t like each other--at all. Bringing up his rival probably wasn’t a good idea. She racked her brain for something to say that would diffuse the tension, but Draco spoke first.

“Will you be there? It’s the first match of the year after all.”

Did he sound… hopeful? No, she was surely imagining it. What was going on with her this morning? Evie flushed. “Yes, I’m planning on going. I think most of the school is.”

“You should. Maybe you can give Potter a few tips on how to ride a broom.” Draco snickered.

“You git!” Evie laughed all the same. “That was a low blow, Malfoy.”

“Not as low as your pride was when I saved you from falling off your broom.” He had smug grin on his face that both infuriated and delighted her.

She let out a sigh, but couldn’t keep a smile from turning up the corners of her lips. “I’m never going to hear the end of that, am I?”

“No.” His smirk widened.

They continued to work, and at last set their cauldron to boil for the allotted time-a quarter of an hour. Draco seemed to be fine leaving Evie alone now. He didn’t spend the time mocking her, but went over to talk with his friends instead. Then he stalked over to Harry, of course, to tease him about how Gryffindor would surely lose the Quidditch match. Evie rolled her eyes. It seemed that bothering Harry only bolstered his high spirits, but Harry didn’t seem to mind all that much. Draco’s jokes weren’t his usual cruel ones, just light hearted teasing.

“Miss Marsh.” Snape was inspecting her potion, nodding thoughtfully. “As expected, you have executed this in a mediocre fashion.”

Evie’s brows rose. That was high praise coming from the Potions Professor. “Thank you.”

“I must ask, is your mother Morgana Marsh? The famous potions master of America?”

The question knocked Evie off balance, but she managed a nod. “Yes Professor.”

Snape considered this, then said, “Well then it is no surprise that you have a capability for the art of potion making that few possess. Especially for a student who’s not in Slytherin. Your mother was a remarkable woman Evie. Do try to live up to her standards so as to honor her memory.”

He strode off after that, going to ridicule Seamus and Dean about their potion. Evie was in shock. Snape had never said anything so respectful to any of the students in this class. She knew that her mother was amazing, but had never thought of how far her reach was. Even people in England knew of her… and the fact that she was dead.

Evie felt her palms grow clammy. She took a deep breath and steadied herself. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on her mother… or the night she died. Evie turned back to her potion, telling herself that she was fine. Her hands, however, continued to shake.

 

**_Draco_ **

“I’m going to use the restroom. Watch the potion would you?” Evie asked Draco soon after he came and sat back down. She seemed shaken. Draco nodded. Even he had his limits when it came to poking fun at her...and he was finding that he didn’t enjoy mocking Marsh was much as he used to, other than the playful teasing.

Draco watched as Evie left the classroom, wondering why she was so upset. It must have been what Snape had said to her… about her mother. Draco wondered what exactly had happened to Morgana Marsh. The library would likely hold answers. He didn’t want to ask Evie, especially not after she returned from the bathroom looking pale. It made her freckles stand out.  

So instead of heading to lunch like everyone else, he shoved an apple into the pocket of his robes and headed to the library. It took some sleuthing, but he found a book on famous potion masters, and sure enough, Morgana Marsh was included. Her list of accomplishments was vast, mostly involving the creation of cures that helped with magical diseases.

It was the picture of her that caught his eye. She really did look a lot like Evie. Same dirty blonde hair, same freckles. At the end of the chapter on her, there was a small paragraph titled: “A Tragic End.” Draco began to read.

_While Marsh lived in Northern America with her husband and daughter, He Who Shall Not Be Named’s reach was very strong. Marsh assisted the fight against the Dark Lord from across the sea, creating various potions to help bring victory over the Death Eaters. Growing more and more famous, Voldemort found her to be a thorn in his side and sent two Death Eaters to assassinate Marsh while her husband--an auror--was away from home on a job._

_The Death Eaters completed their task, but were brought to justice thanks to Marsh’s seven year old daughter. While the details are unknown, the Ministry found_ _Morgana’s child standing by her mother’s body with Morgana’s wand in her hands. The two Death Eaters were dead. It is assumed that Morgana killed them, and then died from her wounds shortly after._

Draco sat back from the book, rubbing his temples. He felt somewhat sick to his stomach now, thinking back on how upset Evie had become after he insulted her mother all those weeks ago. _No wonder she slapped me,_ he thought, _I went much too far._

He was desperately curious as to how those Death Eaters died. If it was Evie, the fact that she mastered the Killing Curse at such a young age was remarkable. He wondered how she had come to peace with it. Witnessing the death of her mother, that is. Draco swallowed hard, itching at his left arm. Guilt and self loathing roiled within him.

But honestly, when had he come to find her so agreeable? He had a reputation, and being all soft around some spunky Gryffindor girl just because of her big blue eyes and pretty smile was going to get him nothing but trouble from his fellow Slytherins. Draco found that he couldn’t seem to help it. After seeing her in a good mood around him for once, he realized that this was most likely how she normally was. Easy going, kind, playful… she would probably act that way more of the time if he teased her less.

Draco let out a frustrated groan. He was playing with fire. If Evie found out what he really was, she would hate him forever. And if his friends found out that he thought Evie was enjoyable to be around, they would mock him. He was the Prince of Slytherin. He had a legacy to protect and continue. Letting out a long sigh, he lay his head down on the book before him, shutting his eyes.

All this with Evie would end badly. He could feel it in his bones. And yet Draco couldn’t keep away.

 

**_Evie_ **

“Honestly Evie, put the sketchbook away at the table! You might spill something on it!” Hermione fretted at lunch. “I don’t want to see your drawings get ruined! They’re so lovely.”

“She’s right,” Said Harry, leaning over to look at Evie’s sketches of the various ghosts of Hogwarts Castle. “It’d be a shame if they were messed with.”

Evie laughed. “I take this sketchbook everywhere. It gets dirty all the time. That’s part of its charm.”

“You should try drawing some more plants.” Neville suggested shyly from his spot next to Evie. “I loved the one you made for me of the gillyweed plant.”

“He sure does!” Snorted Ron around a mouthful of food. “Hung it up above his desk.”

Neville blushed, and Evie smiled.

“Looks like Longbottom might finally get some!” Hooted an obnoxious voice, and Evie turned to see Theodore Nott standing nearby. Neville went red.

“Sod off Nott.” Harry spat. “You’re just nervous cuz you know Gryffindor is going to cream Slytherin in Quidditch this afternoon.”

“I don’t think so, Potter.” And there was Draco with Blaise at his side. He gave Evie a nod--this gesture surprised her a great deal--before turning back to Harry. “You always say how badly Gryffindor is going to beat Slytherin, but it never seems to happen. A pity for the rest of your team really. I’ve heard that the Seeker is what makes or breaks a Quidditch team.”

Ron’s ears were turning red. “Well Harry makes Gryffindor’s team-and he made it by skill alone, not cuz his father bribed the captain.”

Draco’s face went stormy, and Evie sighed, turning around in her seat. She sent Hermione an exasperated look as the boys continued to argue about Quidditch, their arguments making less and less sense as they went on. Evie continued to draw in her sketchbook, taking occasional bites of her pudding. She was working on a sketch of Clarence-her owl.

“Are you drawing me Marsh?” Draco was peering over her shoulder. He let out an over exaggerated gasp. “In that position? In the nude? You better not show that to anyone else.”

Evie drew her sketchbook close to her chest so that Malfoy couldn’t see it, then turned to face him. The swift movement revealed that his face was very close to hers. Draco eased a step back. Was that a light blush on his cheeks? It was gone now. Perhaps a trick of the light.

“I would add a size adjustment though… if you know what I mean.” He smirked and Evie felt her face turn scarlett.

Ron groaned. “Bugger off Malfoy.”

“If I was going to draw anyone in the nude Malfoy, it would not be you.” Evie said, trying to tame the tangle of nerves that had suddenly appeared in her stomach.

“Oh just admit it, you’ve thought about it. Most people do. I have quite a striking figure.” He had a very smug grin on his face.

“I think you’d have an even more striking figure walking far far away from me.” Evie deadpanned, then blushed at the implications of her words.

Draco’s eyes flashed in satisfaction. His teasing had become much more lighthearted with her, and she found it almost enjoyable. Since when had he stopped being more annoying? She couldn’t remember.

“You say I look good going, but how about _coming_?” Draco quipped, his grin positively wolfish. Hermione groaned, Ron choked on his sip of pumpkin juice, and Harry brooded.

Evie’s eyes went wide and she snapped. “Go play some Quidditch already. Get whatever mood this is out of your system. Good grief.”

“Fine fine.” Draco turned to go, but called over his shoulder. “I would invite you to join me, but I can’t keep saving you every time you fall off your broom!”

Evie shot him a blithe look, and he gave her a wink before sauntering away. Watching him go, she felt heat rise to her cheeks.

“What the bloody hell was that all about?” Ron exclaimed after he had left.

Evie shrugged. “I have no idea.”

**_Draco_ **

 Adjusting his uniform one last time, Draco mounted his broom. This was it. The first Quidditch Match of the year. He found himself scanning the stands for Evie of all people as the Slytherins flew onto the pitch. Shaking his head, he forced himself to focus. Slytherin couldn’t afford to lose this match, it could ruin morale for the rest of the season.

The sky was a dove grey, with a fair wind that whipped his hair back and forth. Draco felt free up here, waiting for the Snitch to be released and the game to start. His left arm itched, but he ignored it. While he couldn’t escape this shitstorm that was his life, being up in the clouds on his broom gave him at least a semblance of freedom.

Gryffindor flew out on the field, Potter at the front--of course. Draco suppressed a groan, watching as he flew down by his house’s stand. What a show off. But while looking at Harry, he caught a glimpse of a messy blonde bun. Evie.

There she was, Gryffindor scarf wrapped snugly around her neck. Her face was flush from the chilly weather. The wind had brought strands of her bun loose and they framed her face like a golden halo. She had a smile of amazement on her face, and huddled close to Granger and Loony Lovegood, clutching that battered sketchbook close to her chest. Draco let himself admit that she was a decent artist. Great, even.

At the sight of her smile, he felt his heart skip a beat. Adrenaline rushed through his veins, and he clutched the stick of his broom tightly. They had to win now; he wasn’t about to let Potter show him up.

The Snitch was released, the crowd roared, and Draco surged forward after the whizzing gold blur. The first match of the year had begun.

 

**_Evie_  **

While she was cheering for Gryffindor to win the match, Evie found it hard to keep her eyes off a certain Slytherin seeker.

Draco handled his broom like an extension of his body. Despite the wind picking up and the sky beginning to go cloudy, he kept his steady seat on his broom, and made it look effortless.

Evie found herself unable to tear her gaze away from Draco; standing on her tiptoes to see over the heads around her. He and Harry were shooting into the sky now-the Snitch had just been released.

As the game wore on, she realized that Draco played scrappy and reckless, bumping into Harry and making many hairpin turns that sent Evie’s pulse racing. Normally, there was a high level of restraint that Draco seemed to have in regards to his emotions. He kept them locked away, showing people only what he wanted-and what they expected. Disdain, cruelty, and anger seemed to be the top three.

And yet there had been times recently that he lost control over them around Evie. When he had saved her life, when he smiled longer than usual at her teasing, and especially this morning when he didn’t comment on her puffy eyes after she had returned from the bathroom.

Now, out there on his broom, Draco wasn’t holding anything back. He was letting them loose and using them to his advantage. Evie strained to see the expressions on his face every time he flew close enough. She caught flashes of anger, deviousness, and exhilaration; a whirlwind of emotions.

Evie found herself wishing that she had brought her sketchbook with her. It would be nice to draw him. Her face went pink at the thought. What was going on with her? She hadn’t drawn any people since her mother. She couldn’t possibly _like_ Draco Malfoy… or could she?

 

**_Draco_ **

 The wind was picking up, and Draco struggled to keep his broom level. No sign of the snitch. He could see Potter scanning the skies from across the pitch, but refused to let the Boy Who Lived distract him. His mind and heart were both going a mile a minute; adrenaline leaving him dizzy. He had forgotten what this was like, enjoying Quidditch and wanting to win. It had lost its luster at the start of third year. Why the feeling returned now of all times? Draco didn’t want to admit it, but he had a hunch that Evie Marsh was the reason.

 _The snitch!_ Draco felt his body tingle with excitement the moment his eyes caught sight of it. The Snitch was buzzing right near the Gryffindor stands, but no one had seemed to have noticed it. Keeping his movements easy and relaxed, Draco came down from his spot on high and circled the pitch, making his way to the Gryffindor section. A bludger flew by him but Draco dodged it easily. He had forgotten about the other players below since the start of the game. His focus had always been on that elusive golden orb. A glance at the scoreboard showed that Slytherin was behind Gryffindor by a few points, but if Draco caught the Snitch, they would easily win. He heaved a breath, and went a little faster.

The Snitch was still hovering, and Draco grew closer. The Gryffindors began to jeer and boo at him, but he rolled his eyes. Nothing to care about. Let them jeer--he was about to win the game for his house.

And then he locked eyes with Evie. Her blue eyes widened at his appearance above her. She looked over to her left and saw the Snitch. Draco groaned. Knowing Evie, she would call out that she saw it and in doing so would ruin Draco’s head start. To his immense surprise, however, Evie looked back at Draco for a moment, then turned her attention elsewhere.

Draco’s eyes widened. She wasn’t going to give him away after all. Now was the time to end this. He shot up towards the Snitch. It must have sensed him, for the golden orb darted upwards. Urging his broom faster, Draco pursued. The crowd had caught on now, screaming in excitement. Gryffindor was yelling for Potter to hurry. He smirked. Potter would never make it in time.

He was soaring high above the stands by now, eyes locked on the Snitch. It was so close. Draco grinned and stood on his broom, sliding one foot after another till he stood at its front. He didn’t bother looking down. He knew the drop-it was of no consequence. All that mattered now was winning.

Stretching out his hand, he felt the Snitch’s delicate wings fluttering against his fingers. Just… a little… farther… Draco threw himself forward, urging one more burst of speed into his broom.

The metal was warm against his skin as his fingers closed around it. He raised his fist in triumph, and felt the crowd roar below him. Suddenly, wind buffeted against him Draco cursed as he lost his balance, feet slipping from there spot on his broom.

And then he fell.

 

**_Evie_ **

“Draco!” Evie screamed the moment the figure high above the stands dropped from his broom. No one in the crowd seemed to hear her, not even Hermione, who was trying to placate a furious Ron about Gryffindor’s recent loss. Then Slytherin’s screams of triumph became ones of terror, and all eyes turned to the rapidly falling Seeker.

A sick sense of dejavu washed over Evie. She knew the feeling too well. The wind roaring about her as she plunged downward, that awful feeling of weightlessness. A shiver ran down her spine.

“Someone do something!” She yelled, and startled when a gentle hand touched her forearm.

“Don’t worry Evie. Draco will be fine.” Luna said dreamily, patting her arm. “Dumbledore is slowing his descent, see? People fall from their brooms during Quidditch matches all the time. Nothing to worry about.”

Glancing upward, Evie saw that Draco was now lazily drifting downward, pumping his fist in the air and grinning widely. A flash of gold revealed the Snitch in his grasp. Evie let out a deep breath of relief. The other Gryffindors around her, however, were groaning in defeat.

“You were really worried for him, weren’t you?”Luna asked.

Evie felt her face flush. “I would have been worried no matter who it was!”

Her blonde-haired friend smiled. “But you worried even more because he is close to your heart. Your eyes were on him the whole match.”

She swallowed hard, and Luna laughed. A light rain had begun to fall, and Gryffindor had begun the long walk of shame back to the castle. Slytherin was triumphant, storming the field as Draco landed and taking him up on their shoulders. Evie smiled. He looked so happy.

“See?” Luna said.

“You’re imagining things.” Evie replied, giving her a good-natured shove. “Let’s go. It’s time for the Halloween feast.”

 

* * *

 

 

“So Potter, how does it feel to have royally screwed up the first Quidditch match of the year?” Draco asked with a smirk, stopping Evie and her friends in their tracks as they headed back to the Gryffindor dormitory. Pansy and Blaise stood a few paces behind him, leaning against the wall with matching grins on their faces.

The feast had been fantastic, and despite their loss, Gryffindor had been in good spirits. It was the first match of the year after all. Plenty of more times to beat Slytherin.

Draco was clearly still high from his victory. He face was flushed and his hair was a mess on his head, most likely from the fall off his broom. Evie had a strange urge to brush some of the strands falling in his eyes of Draco’s face. She blushed at the thought.

“Bugger off Malfoy.” Harry snapped. “It was a lucky jump and you know it.”

“That’s what you’d like to think. It was pure skill.”

Evie had to agree with Draco on this. His talent with a broom was as good as Harry’s, or at least, that was the conclusion she had come to.

“Well it’s clear that Harry’s the better Seeker,” Ron protested, ears already red, “ _He_ didn’t fall off his broom, unlike some people.”

Draco sighed theatrically. “What can I say? I have a flair for the dramatic.”

Evie coughed, covering her laugh. Draco’s eyes snapped to her, and she bit her lip, looking at the ground. If she smiled, it would only make Harry and Ron feel worse. Glancing upwards through her lashes, she saw Draco grinning at her.

“Something funny, Marsh?”

“I was just thinking about how now we both have fallen off our brooms,” Evie said with a smile. “You can’t tease me about that anymore. You’re as reckless as I am, Malfoy.”

“Oh really? I’m as reckless as you now?” He took a step closer to her, getting into Evie’s personal space. “I’m flattered.”

She stood firm. “You should be.”

“While we’re talking, I have a question for you.”  Draco said.

“Can’t this wait?” Hermione sighed. “We have class tomorrow.”

“What’s your question?” Evie asked, ignoring Hermione. “Come on Malfoy; don’t leave me hanging.”

Draco’s grey eyes flashed dangerously. But this wasn’t dislike filling the space between them… no... it was something _very_ different. It was heat and energy. They were pushing each other, but not to see if who would draw their wand first. It was testing something else. Evie’s face was flushed, and became even more so when Draco moved even closer to her. His eyes were dark with an unnamed emotion.

“I was just wondering how the drawing of me is going.” He practically purred. “Still need a reference picture? I’m sure I could find you one.”

Evie rolled her eyes, but her blush grew darker. “That again? For the last time, I’m not drawing you nude.”

“If you say so. See you in Potions, Marsh.” Draco said airily, and strode back towards his friends, waving as he went.

Letting out a long sigh, Evie turned, joining Harry, Ron, and Hermione as they walked back to their dorm. What on earth was going on with Draco? Why was he suddenly so keen on being closer to her? And why in Merlin’s name did she like the idea of that? She decided not to think about it. After all, the Prince of Slytherin would bring her nothing but trouble.


	6. Riddikulus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> warnings for mentions of self harm

**_Draco_ **

It was the first week of November, and yet snow had already begun to fall on the Hogwarts castle. Draco was grateful for the thick stone walls that kept the hallways and classrooms warm. He turned back to Professor Lupin, who was explaining today’s lesson in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

“Today we will be working with a creature you all may remember from your third year-the Boggart!” The Professor announced, and a murmur went through the room. “While you have already faced it, my belief is that as we grow older and change, so do our fears. It is for that reason that I will have you face this creature once more, to continue to build your strength against the darkest parts of your mind. Your own mind can be the most frightening place, but the more you avoid thoughts you dislike, the stronger they grow.”

Why the bloody hell were they facing the Boggart again? Draco had managed to get out of this exercise during third year, and he wasn’t keen on participating this year either. Who knew what form his boggart would take. He had a feeling about what it might be, and if that was the case.. he shook his head rapidly. No, there was no way _that_ was his worst fear. He scratched his left arm and looked to his left, a few paces up.

Evie Marsh didn’t look happy about this exercise either. Her face had grown pale and her eyes large as she stood with Hermione to head to the front of the classroom where the Boggart’s wardrobe was kept.

“Boys, if you could push the desks against the wall, we can begin to form a line.” The Professor called, setting the needle on his record player with a scratch. An upbeat tune filled the air, but it only seemed to upset Evie more.

Draco wondered what form her Boggart would take. His mind went to her mother, and Draco clenched his hands into fists. Surely Lupin wouldn’t force her to partake in the exercise, would he? His stomach twisted.

The line before the Boggart’s beaten wardrobe was growing, but it seemed that no one wanted to go first. Finally, Lupin got Longbottom to step on up.

“You went first last time and did a marvelous job.” He smiled kindly at Neville, then said to the class, “Remember, the spell is...”

“ _Riddikulus!”_ Everyone chanted back, except for most of the Slytherins. Draco rolled his eyes.

“Honestly. This will only be worth doing if we see someone piss their pants.” Commented Pansy from next to Draco.

Blaise chuckled. “Or if someone has a stupid fear. I beat the Weasel’s still scared of spiders. What do you think Malofy?”

Draco snorted. “Probably. We’ll have to wait and see I suppose.”

Neville’s worst fear still was Snape, and everyone laughed as his spell once more dressed the Potions Professor in his grandmother’s clothes. Weasley’s Boggart had taken the form of spiders again as well. And that was how the line went for a while. Simple fears- the dark, various animals, as well as a new one that many students had- Voldemort. The sight of the Dark Lord was chilling, but Draco kept calm by reminding himself that Tom Riddle remained in Azkaban with the most powerful Aurors guarding him.

The class laughed, somewhat nervously, as Voldemort grew an overly large nose for one student, and then sprouted a rainbow dyed afro for another. Lupin smiled through it all, calling out words of encouragement to some of his more tense pupils.

Draco was talking to Blaise and Pansy all throughout, hanging towards the middle of the line. Evie and Hermione were only a few paces before him. After Hermione cast the spell on her worst fear- McGonagall giving her a failing grade- it was Evie’s turn. Draco craned his neck to see around those in front of him, curious.

“Marsh is up.” Pansy said beside him. “Who knows what her Boggart is. Probably something loony…” She trailed off as Evie’s Boggart took its form.

“Bloody hell.” Blaise cursed, and Draco felt all the blood drain from his face.

Laying a few paces before Evie was Morgana Marsh, her robes soaked with blood. She was reaching for her daughter, who stared down at her mother with wide, tear-filled eyes.

“Evie!” She cried out. “Evie please, darling, help me!”

Then she began to twitch and cry out in pain. Blood was seeping from her mouth and eyes. Draco felt bile rise in his throat. The class had gone silent, with Lupin’s music filling the silence. The jaunty tune playing quickly becoming inappropriate and chafing.

Evie was deathly pale, holding her wand in trembling hands. Draco felt anger surge through him. How could Lupon allow this? To reveal something so intimate about Evie before a group of strangers. His blood boiled.

“Riddikulus, Evie.” Said the Professor gently.

She couldn't seem to manage it. Her lips tried to form the words but all that came out was a shuddering breath.

“Mom?” Evie whispered, her voice cracking.

Adrenaline shot through Draco; it was time to stop this-for her sake. He knew he would regret what he was about to do, but he didn't give a damn. Pushing through the line of students to the front, Draco stepped before Evie and drew his wand. He winced as the Boggart changed forms and his own father materialized before him. That was his greatest fear then. So be it. A collective gasp went up from the class at the sight of Lucius Malfoy, but Draco endured it. This wasn't about him.

“ _Riddikulus_.” He growled, and the boggart warped into a jar of orange marmalade.

He turned to find the rest of the class-staring at him with wide eyes. He didn’t look at the other Slytherins. He didn’t want to. Especially not after what he was about to do.

He locked eyes with Evie. She looked weak with relief. Draco saw that there were tears running down her cheeks. He hated the sight of them.

Rounding on Lupin, he snarled, “What the bloody hell were you thinking, having us do this exercise during sixth year? Of course our greatest fears are going to be worse! You’re a lunatic!”

“Draco-” Lupin said, trying to placate him.

“Fuck off.” He snapped, and without another word, he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room.

 

**_Evie_ **

Evie watched Draco storm from the room, blinking away the blur of her tears. His worst fear was his living father, and hers was her dead mother. She couldn’t seem to get the image of his wide eyes when Lucius Malfoy had appeared before him out of her head. Or the image of her dying mother reaching for her, pleading for help, for that matter. Evie swallowed, desperately willing her tears away.

As her mind cleared, she felt a blush cover her cheeks. Everyone had seen that. Her worst fear. Evie’s stomach twisted. The class seemed to be chattering about Draco and his Boggart’s form, but Evie could hear her name tossed about in conversation.

“Evie, would you like to go to see Madame Pomfrey?” Professor Lupin asked her gently.

She nodded. “May Hermione walk me there?”

He smiled warmly. “Of course. Feel better Evie. And if you need anything, feel free to come by and see me outside of class.”

“Let’s go.” Hermione was already by her side, slipping an arm under Evie’s and leading her from the room.

“Feel better Evie.” Ron called, and Neville echoed him.

Harry touched her arm as she passed. “Try chocolate,” He said with a smile. “It helps.”

“Alright, I’ll try that.” Evie managed a grin. “Thanks. I’ll see you at dinner, okay?”  

The boys nodded, then turned back to their classmates. Professor Lupin was trying, however fruitlessly, to get his students back under control. He had his work cut out for him, judging on the volume their chatter.

As they neared the back of the line, Evie felt a sharp gaze upon her. Turning her head she saw a Slytherin girl watching her with a stormy look on her face. Their eyes met and the girl sneered at her. Evie looked away quickly.

“Who is that Slytherin girl?” She whispered to Hermione.

“Pansy Parkinson,” Her friend replied. They had reach the door of the classroom. “One of Malfoy’s gang.”

“Draco has a gang?”

“No… it’s just slang for the people he hangs around. They follow his every order.” Hermione sighed. “What is going on between you two anyways?”

Evie frowned. “What do you mean?”

“He doesn’t stand up for his own _friends_ , let alone a half-blood Gryffindor girl who, up until recently, he mocked at every opportunity. I’m talking about _you_ , Evie.”

That got a weak laugh out of her. “I know.”

Hermione smiled. “But really, the look on his face when he stepped in front of you was one of determination and tenderness. He knew that his Boggart would be his father, but he helped you all the same.”

“What are you trying to say?”

Her friend shrugged, staring down the hallway before them with a faraway look in her eyes.. “Maybe I’m overthinking this, but I feel as if he has a soft spot when it comes to you.”

“You can’t mean…” Evie trailed off, her cheeks going pink.

“Think about it Evie. I _know_ you’re far from stupid. He saved you when you fell off your broom, he doesn’t tease you nearly as harshly as he used to, and today he...well… you know.”

“But why me? What could I have possibly done to make Draco Malloy fond of me?”

Hermione came to a stop, facing Evie and setting her hands on her shoulders. She smiled warmly. “It’s not about what you do! It’s about who you are. He came to admire you without your noticing, so there’s no need to act differently now. ”

Evie groaned. “I need some chocolate. Besides, he’s positively beastly to Harry and Ron… and he’s called you horrible things in the past. Even if he likes me, there’s no way I can return his feelings.”

Hermione began to walk forward again. “Forget about all that-do you like him?”

Evie stopped in her tracks. Didn’t that make perfect sense? It really did. The way she always wanted to see what he was feeling or thinking… the desire to draw him… her inability to stop blushing when he got in her personal space… She felt her face flame red at the thought.

“Godric!” She cried, breaking into what was at best a speed walk. “I couldn’t possibly! Not him! Him- of all people! And yet…”

“And yet, what?” Hermione was keeping pace with her, and they reached the floating stairs and hopped onto one. Her friend had a grin on her face.

Scowling, Evie remarked dryly, “You’re enjoying this aren’t you.”

“You couldn’t seem to stop watching him during the Quidditch match yesterday. Luna and I both noticed that. Not to mention when the two of you showed up to class together that time… and let’s not forget your constant banter. You two may _think_ you’re fighting, but it sure looks like flirting to everyone else. Honestly Evie, the way he was looking at you last night? It was like he wanted to pull you into an abandoned hallway and snog your face off.”

Evie gripped the rail of the stair and screeched, “Hermione!”

She laughed. “I’m just getting all this out in the open. We have to examine the facts.”

“It doesn’t matter. There’s no way I can ever tell him how I feel.” Evie let out a long sigh. “Harry and Ron can’t stand him; Draco’s friends hate me… it would never work.”

“Evie.” Hermione’s steady voice brought her back down to earth. “You can’t choose who you’re attracted to. It just happens. And for what it’s worth, I think you would be good for Malfoy.”

Evie blushed, and then wrapped her arms around Hermione. “You really are the brightest witch of our age.”

Hermione laughed, hugging Evie back. “Let’s go find you some chocolate.”

 

**_Draco_ **

Luckily for Draco’s dignity, tomorrow was Saturday. No classes to sit through with the eyes of every member of his year watching him. Not to mention Lupin’s pity. Draco growled, picking up a rock in his palm and chucking it into the lake. He had needed somewhere quiet, away from the whispers and gazes and jeers. It had been nearly two hours since he had arrived down by the shore, but he wasn’t bored. That was new.

Quiet. He never got enough of it. What was it he really wanted? Not power or money, though he had dreamed of such things when he was younger. Now? He simply wanted peace. And freedom. Of all things, Draco yearned to be free. Like the way he felt when he was up high on his broom. Away from the family legacy that he was expected to prolong, away from a Dark Lord he had no desire to serve. His left arm itched, and for once he gave into his urges and pushed back his left sleeve.

There, sitting stark against his pale skin, was the Dark Mark. _His_ Dark Mark. Draco had always seen it as separate from himself, but there it was, and there it would remain; inked into his flesh till the day he died. A shudder ran through him and he rolled his sleeve back down. He would never have peace as long as that _thing_ was a part of him.

His mind went back to the time Bellatrix had carved it into his arm, cackling as he grit his teeth against the pain. “To take your father’s place, you must do this.” She had hissed. Better him than his mother. He had seen the fear in her eyes when Bellatrix had apparated into their dining room one fateful evening during dinner. While Narcissa believed in blood purity, he knew that her loyalty to the Dark Lord wavered with each passing day. Especially now, with both Voldemort and his father in Azkaban.

Draco had volunteered, desperate to spare her from the burden of a Dark Mark. And so it came to pass. He cradled his arm to his chest, falling to his knees in the wet sand. Tears pricked at his eyes, but he blinked them away angrily. It was tearing him apart, this darkness that lived in him now. A darkness he had never wanted.

But here, by the still waters of the lake… he could be weak. He could be vulnerable. Here, where no one else could see him.

“Draco?” Said a kindly voice, and he shot to his feet, heart hammering in his chest.

A few paces away was none other than Albus Dumbledore, walking towards Draco at an easy pace. He felt himself stiffen.

“Headmaster.” He tugged his left sleeve as far down as it would go.

“May I ask what you are doing on the shores of the lake?”

Draco swallowed hard. “I needed somewhere quiet to think.”

“And you have chosen the right spot for it.” Dumbledore stood beside him, looking out over the still water. “With all the whizzing and whirring and rushing of life today, one can only hope to gain a moment of stillness.”

Draco nodded, unsure of what to say.

“You are not the only student I have found seeking solitude during the school day. A young Miss Evie Marsh. She is in your year I believe. Except she prefers the owlery to the lake, though I think that both have their benefits. And both are quiet places to reside with one’s thoughts.”

Draco’s head snapped to Dumbledore at the mention of Evie. He had known that she missed out on class, but to be alone? They had more in common than he thought.

Realization dawned on him. “Are you here because I told Professor Lupin to fuck off? I’m not going to apologize to him. He had it coming.”

Dumbledore chuckled quietly. “I am not here because of that, though I did hear of it. It was very brave of you to stand up for your classmate. Your words to Remus were said in a moment of anger and fear. I cannot fault you for that.”

“What do you want then?” His voice came out sharp, and he regretted it. He had never known why, but he had always admired Dumbledore. His father hated the man, but Draco found him to be understanding and fair. All the same, he had a reputation to protect.

“Oh Draco. It is just the two of us. No need for facades.” The older man’s eyes were bright behind his half moon glasses. “I know of your Mark. I knew of it from the moment you stepped foot in Hogwarts. But I also knew that it was given to you without your consent.”

Draco froze. Dumbledore knew then. Not much of a surprise there, really. The man had bested Grindelwald after all. He was practically invincible.

“Better me than my mother.” Draco said quietly. “I didn’t want her to be the one to have to bear it.”

“There is much conflict in your heart, isn’t there?” Dumbledore asked. “As there should be, now that Voldemort is soon to be vanquished. Without the fear of his or your father’s wrath, you can think in ways you never believed you could.”

Draco nodded. “I think I know what is right and what is wrong. I think I’ve always known, but… but I was told that my instincts were faulty. _Bloody hell_ , why am I telling you this?”

“Perhaps because you have no one else to speak of it with?”

An image of Evie flashed through his mind. No. She could never find out about all this. His Dark Mark. The blackness lurked deep within his soul. The constant battle against his own mind about what was right and wrong that never seemed to stop. No. She could never know.

Draco sighed. “I suppose. But where do I go from here? How do I know what is right? Everyone I know is pulling me in different directions.”

“Follow you heart Draco.” Dumbledore placed a steadying hand on his shoulder. “It will not fail you.”

 

* * *

  

**_Evie_ **

Evie felt her pulse speed up the moment Hermione nudged her and whispered, “He just sat down.”

The news of Draco Malfoy’s Boggart had spread through Hogwarts like wildfire. Evie felt somewhat guilty for that. She watched the Slytherin as he slid into a seat next to Blaise Zabini. He must have a cracked a joke of some kind--probably at some poor underclassman’s expense--for his table was soon roaring with laughter.

“What should I do?” Evie whispered to Hermione, cutting her food into tiny pieces as a distraction. “I can’t go up to him and thank him for what he did--he’d mock me for it.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Hermione replied, “Though I don’t think he would like you approaching him at dinner. I’d wait till after.”

Evie nodded. “Good idea.”

“What’s a good idea?” Luna asked airily as she sat down between Hermione and Evie. “Ooohh, are we talking about Draco?”

“Luna!” Hermione and Evie shushed her at the same time.

She laughed. “Sorry, sorry. I couldn’t help it. Talking about love gets me all excited.”

Evie snorted. “I most certainly do _not_ love him. It’s just a bit of…”

“Like?” Hermione supplied, and she nodded.

“I see. Well, I don’t know much about that, but I can tell you that Draco’s got an awful lot of Wrackspurts floating around in his head.” Observed Luna, pulling down a large pair of peculiar looking glasses over her eyes. “I could help him get rid of those…”

“Thanks Luna, but I’m sure he’s fine.” Said Hermione. “But we should probably stop staring at him. He might notice.”

“Good idea.” Evie agreed.

The three of them turned back around in their seats, and Hermione and Luna began to talk with Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Neville. Evie, however, was unable to stop herself from taking one last look over her shoulder at Draco.

He was looking at her. Their eyes locked for only a second, but it was enough to cause a deep blush to spread across her cheeks. Evie turned quickly back around in her seat, her chest growing warm. It felt as if there were wings fluttering inside her. She took a bite of her pudding to take her mind off of those sharp cheekbones and calculating eyes. _Bollocks,_ she thought. _I need to get ahold of myself.’_  

“First we stop by Zonko’s Joke Shop, of course, and then Honeydukes. I say we finish things off at The Three Broomsticks,” Ron was saying, and Evie attempted to look as though she had been listening all along instead of daydreaming about a certain Slytherin. In reality, she had no idea what Ron was going on about, although his animated expression and constant gesturing made it seem quite important..

“It’s the first visit of the year to Hogsmeade, the village right by Hogwarts,” explained Ginny, clearly noticing Evie’s confusion. “We can spend all day there, and we don’t have to wear uniforms either.”

“You can get just about any useless trinket or slightly entertaining gizmo down in Hogsmeade.” Hermione snorted. “Ronald is always bringing back loads of rubbish.”

“That’s not true!” The redhead in question protested. “I used that Biting Teacup on Harry last year, remember? It was hilarious!”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “If you say so Ron…”

“Don’t listen to her.” Ron leaned in towards Evie. “It was bloody brilliant.”

“For you maybe.” Harry laughed. “My nose was red for days afterwards, you wanker.”

“You two are idiots.” Ginny sighed. “But really Evie, Hogsmeade is the greatest.”

Harry nodded. “Gin’s right. Have you ever had Butterbeer? The Three Broomsticks has the best, in my opinion.”

Evie’s brow crinkled, “No. What is it?”

Ron’s mouth dropped open. “Just the best bloody drink you’ll ever taste!”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Evie laughed. “And I’ll be sure to try some tomorrow.”

 

**_Draco_ **

There was something about Evie Marsh bundled up in her warm winter clothes that was undeniably charming. From her scarf wrapped all the way to her nose, to her navy jacket that practically swallowed her whole, to the bright red snow boots she wore on her feet. She was walking with Potter and his crowd only a few meters ahead of Draco, practically bouncing with every step. Honestly, she acted like a child.

He hated himself for noticing these things, but he did all the same. He was a boy after all, and boys noticed these things… right? It meant nothing. She was just another girl who had triggered a chemical reaction inside him. No emotions involved. Or so he told himself. Draco let out a sigh, tramping through the snow with Blaise, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

“Where to first?” Asked Blaise.

“Honeydukes.” Replied Crabbe, his beady, pig-like eyes glowing at the thought of candy. Draco rolled his eyes.

Pansy shrugged. “Sounds good to me. Not like there’s much to do in this bleeding hamlet. Hogsmeade lost its excitement after the first visit. Now it’s just stupid.”

“It’s that time of the month for someone,” muttered Goyle. Crabbe chuckled.

Draco and Blaise, however, were wise enough not to. Pansy pulled her wand from her coat pocket, and without a backward glance at the two snickering boys, cast a jinx on them. The pair tumbled into the powdery snow with shouts and curses. Draco, Pansy, and Blaise laughed at their flailing.

“Served them right, the bloody codgers,” Blaise said, and Draco nodded.

It was the first snow of the Winter, a result, no doubt,  of the early November weather. Draco had always been fond of snow, especially around Christmas time at Hogwarts. It was only a few months away. But then he realized how Christmas was likely to be this year. Wandering the empty halls of Malfoy Manor, with his mother crying inside her bedroom. His enthusiasm waned.

Up ahead, the cheerful lamps of Hogsmeade cast warm, golden pools of light onto the snow. The third years were practically running by now, eager to get into Honeydukes and Zonkos.

Evie was attempting to catch snowflakes on her tongue, laughing in surprise when Potter lobbed a snowball at her face. She grinned and threw one back. Soon the whole group was engaged in a snowball fight, which Draco and his friends avoided as they walked by.

“What a bunch of children.” Pansy snorted. “They do realize we’re sixth years, don’t they?”

Blaise smirked. “I wouldn’t count on it.”

Draco didn’t respond. Potter was an idiot, the Weasel was obnoxious, and Granger was a know-it-all, but Evie had chosen them to be her friends. They must be worth something, if that was the case. He felt Pansy’s jealous gaze on him. She had noticed that he gave more attention to Evie than he used to. She’d made a few comments on it too, but Draco had ignored them. Blaise didn’t seem to care or notice, but then again, he wasn’t the one who Draco had slept with multiple times last year.

The last thing Evie needed was an angry Pansy Parkinson after her, so Draco sneered and said, “What a load of wankers.”

Pansy didn’t seem convinced, and Draco couldn’t blame her. He certainly wasn’t convincing himself. What was this girl doing to him?

She filled his thoughts and dreams with her golden hair and dark blue eyes. He’d woken once or twice covered in sweat, her name heavy on his lips. Those nights usually ended in _very_ cold showers. When they worked together in Potions, he could practically feel her presence beside him. She smelled of rose and peach; like summertime. He was fascinated by the way Evie worked as well, with her wand tucked into her bun or braid, her sleeves rolled up. Positively enraptured by her potions, mumbling and humming under her breath as she worked.

She was driving him insane, Draco decided. But, _bloody hell_ , what a way to go.

 

**_Evie_ **

“I think I speak for all of us when I say that I could care less about Zonko’s,” Evie whispered to Hermione and Ginny, who nodded in agreement. “Why don’t we go to Honeydukes and meet the boys there?”

“Good idea.” Ginny said with a mischievous grin. “Once they’re inside we can head off. They won’t even know we’re gone. I don’t understand what it is with Zonko’s and Ron, but he can never get enough. I think it’s the Fred and George in him. They’re our twin brothers. They own Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes.”

“That was their shop?” Evie asked with a smile. “I remember it from Diagon Alley!”

“It’s amazing, but whatever you do, do _not_ mention it to Ron.” Hermione groaned, but there was a smile on her face. “Once he gets started on it, he really doesn’t stop.”

“True.” Concurred Ginny.

At last they reached Zonkos, and after watching Neville, Ron, and Harry disappear inside, the three girls headed back down the lane to Honeydukes. Evie was excited. She had a terrible sweet tooth, and knew this trip would only end in a stomach ache. All the same, she adored chocolate, and so planned on eating loads of it.

The moment they entered the store, Evie let out a small squeal of delight. The smell was what hit first, chocolate and peppermint and orange. Lining the walls were shelves filled with row upon row of every kind of candy imaginable. Creamy chunks of nougat, shimmering pink squares of coconut ice, honey-coloured toffees, and hundreds of different kinds of chocolate. There was a large barrel of Every Flavour Beans, and another of Fizzing Whizzbees, the levitating sherbet balls that Evie had heard Ron mention. There was an entire wall dedicated to ‘Special Effects’ sweets: Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum (which filled a room with bluebell-coloured bubbles that refused to pop for days), the strange, splintery Toothflossing Stringmints, tiny black Pepper Imps (‘breathe fire for your friends!’), Ice Mice (‘hear your teeth chatter and squeak!’), peppermint creams shaped like toads (‘hop realistically in the stomach!’) , fragile sugar-spun quills and exploding bonbons.

“I think I’m in heaven.” Evie said dreamily, and her friends laughed.

Hermione smiled. “You _would_ have a terrible sweet tooth. Be careful- you don’t want to end up with a stomach ache. Harry had one after his first official visit to Hogsmeade, and it put a damper on the whole thing.”

“I’ll be careful, Mum.” Evie teased, and left Ginny and Hermione to peruse the shelves dedicated to chocolate.

There were thick bars of white, milk, and dark chocolate-as well as creamy peanut butter-chocolate truffles and delicate non pareils. Evie let out a contented sigh, hands clutched together over her heart. Choosing what she wanted was going to be a sweet torture. She laughed at her own pun, and continued to browse, her eyes glazing at the sight of the endless sugar.

“Your ears are red,” commented a concerned voice, and Evie turned to see Neville standing beside her, holding a chocolate frog in each hand.

“Oh yeah.” Evie laughed, touching the tips of her ears. “I left my hat back at the castle, so the cold got to them a bit. It’s not too bad though.”

“My Gran says that cold ears lead to the flu,” Replied Neville matter-of-factly, and pulled off his hat. “Here. You can borrow my hat.”

“No no, I don’t want to take yours!” Evie protested. “You’ll get cold!”

He handed it to her all the same. “I have another in my pocket. Don’t worry.”

“Are you sure?” She accepted the knit beanie from him, and Neville nodded. The hat was a shockingly bright shade of purple, but it would keep her head warm. Evie put it on, grateful she had chosen to braid her hair rather than wear it in a bun today. A hat would have been hard to wear with a bun. Pulling the flaps over her ears, Evie smiled at the tall boy.

“Thank you Neville.”

He shrugged bashfully. “Anything for a friend.”

Evie scanned the shop. “It looks like I took too long picking out what candy I wanted. Hermione and Ginny must have already headed to the Three Broomsticks. Want to walk over with me?”

He nodded. “Don’t you want to pick something out?”

Evie groaned. “I can’t seem to decide! It all looks lovely.”

“How about a blood-flavoured lollipop?” Neville suggested, and then laughed at Evie’s horrified expression. “They don’t really taste like blood… they just turn your mouth red, that’s all.”

“I might have to pass on those Neville.” Evie said with a grimace. “I think I’m going to go with a chocolate wand. Those look good.”

“Ace idea.” He noted, and after paying for their candy, they headed out into the snowy avenue.

Evie liked the sight of Hogwarts students running about in the snow, chattering and laughing. Everyone seemed really happy. The snow was still falling gently, and by the time they reached the Three Broomsticks, Neville’s hair was peppered with it. Evie noticed that he hadn’t gotten his supposed “other hat” out of his pocket, but she decided not to comment on it.

“Neville! Evie!” Harry called, waving them over to a table in the back.

Ginny, Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Luna, were seated in a booth, cheeks red from the snow and wooden mugs set before them.

“Is that Butterbeer?” Evie asked curiously, and Harry nodded.

“You’ve got to try it. It’s amazing.” He called to a tall woman nearby, “Madame Rosmerta, can we have two more mugs of Butterbeer?”

“You got it lads.” She said with a wink, and Ron went red in the face. Hermione snorted, looking annoyed, while Ginny and Harry laughed.

“There’s not any actual beer in this, is there?” Asked Evie as a mug was slid before her. She looked down at the foamy and golden liquid. It smelled amazing.

Luna smiled. “No, though I add some Treacle Liqueur to mine sometimes. It really adds to the taste.”

“Don’t ask where she gets that.” Ginny whispered to Evie. “The process will make you lose your appetite for sure. Let’s just say that it involves crushing slugs with a mallet.”

Evie’s eyes went wide. “How does she stand it?”

The redhead shrugged. “Beats me.”

“C-could you add some to mine Luna?” Asked Neville bashfully, scratching the back of his neck. “I’d like to try it, if you say that it makes the flavor better.”

“Certainly!” Luna said, producing a golden flask from her pocket and pouring a dark looking liquid into Neville’s mug.

Neville took a sip, then went a little green. Swallowing hard, he turned and gave Luna a weak smile. “It’s good!”

“I think so too. But you have to add more to really taste it…” She poured in more, and Neville’s eyes bugged. At that, the table collapsed into giggles and laughter.

“Try yours, Evie!” Harry urged, so she took a sip.

It was buttery and warm, with a hint of spice. The overwhelming flavor of butterscotch invaded Evie’s taste buds, and she shuddered in pleasure. With a hum of satisfaction, she savored the feeling of heat that bloomed inside her chest with each sip. Smiling, Evie gave Harry a thumbs up.

“Why we don’t have this in America, I can’t say. It’s amazing!”

“Is the Wizarding World in America all that different?” Asked Ron.

Evie shrugged. “Not really. Some of our food, slang, and traditions are different, but in the end we’re all witches and wizards.”

Hermione nodded. “Evie’s right. Think about when Beauxbatons and Durmstrang came to Hogwarts during the Triwizard Tournament. We were all from different places, but everyone had plenty in common.”

“Yeah, especially you and Viktor Krum.” Snorted Ron, and Hermione reddened. “How is your penpal anyways?”

“He’s fine, Ronald.” She said shortly, and Harry shot Ginny an amused look. Evie wondered if Hermione was as good as analyzing her own feelings as she was at analyzing others’. There was clearly jealousy in Ron’s voice, and Evie had a feeling that it was due to his feelings for Hermione. She wondered if her friend had noticed. She looked at Hermione, who took a long sip of her Butterbeer and then turned to talk to Ginny. Apparently not.

“Have they always been like this?” She whispered to Harry, who sat beside her.

He nodded. “It’s getting worse every year. Trust me.”

They laughed, and Evie noticed Ginny watching Harry out of the corner of her eye. Harry kept glancing furtively at her as well. Good grief. Was everyone in their group pining after someone else? _Even I am_ , Evie thought with a sigh. _But at least the rest of this lot have a chance with the person they like. If I mentioned my feelings to Draco, he’d probably laugh in my face._

She wondered if he really would, though. Her thoughts were still on Draco Malfoy when the group began to head back towards Hogwarts. The woodland path they were taking took them by the Shrieking Shack, a haunted house-or so said many students. Harry explained that it was just abandoned.

As Evie walked by it, she looked through the trees at the fence surrounding the dilapidated structure. Her eyes widened. There, standing alone by it, and looking at the Shrieking Shack was none other than Draco Malfoy. He was rather far away, but Evie could tell it was him from his slicked back, white-blonde hair and black pea-coat.

“Hermione.” She said, tugging on her friend’s sleeve.

“Yeah?”

“I forgot something back in Hogsmeade. I’ll go back and find you all before dinner.” Evie sent a pointed glance over to where Draco stood and Hermione’s eyes widened.

“What are you going to do?” She whispered, and Evie realized she hadn’t thought that far enough ahead.

“Thank him. For… you know.” She shrugged. “Yesterday.”

“Alright. I’ll let everyone know you’ll see them at dinner.” Hermione said. “Now go!”

Evie turned, heading back down the woodland path to where it branched off towards the Shrieking Shack. She waved over her shoulder at Hermione, who grinned. Then her and the rest of Evie’s friends rounded a bend in the path and were gone.

Evie squared her shoulders, setting off down the snowy trail to find Draco Malfoy.

 

**_Draco_ **

Looking out at the Shrieking Shack, Draco savoured the stillness around him. After telling his friends that he had to go back to Hogwarts early to finish a Potions paper, he walked instead to the fence that surrounded the decrepit building and watched the snow fall. He had heard students walking on the path back in the woods once or twice, but it seemed that no one had noticed him. If they had, they knew to leave Draco well enough alone.

What was going on with him? He had enjoyed moments of quiet before this year, but now all he ever seemed to want to do was be alone. Everything was changing, wasn’t it? He was just trying to sort through it all, and for that to happen, he needed silence.

There was a crunch in the snow a few meters behind him, and he turned quickly, scowling. Standing before him was none other than Evie Marsh. She smiled as she walked up to him, and Draco felt his scowl fade. The last time he had seen her she wasn’t wearing anything on her head, but now she had on a garishly purple hat that was much too big for her. It looked a lot like that monstrosity Longbottom always had on.

“Hello Draco,” she greeted him, and proceeded to laugh awkwardly when he didn’t respond. “I thought it was you out here. I’m glad it is, because if it hadn’t been you I would have been in a rather uncomfortable position, don’t you think?”

She was speaking quickly, clearly nervous. Draco realized that for the first time, the two of them were alone. No teachers or classmates around. Just him and Evie. He wasn’t quite sure how he felt about that.

“What do you want, Marsh?” He sighed, faking nonchalance. In reality, his heart was racing inside his chest and his face felt hot. “And why do you keep calling me Draco? It’s Malfoy.”

Her lips pursed together. Draco felt himself groan inwardly. Why did he always have to act like such an ass when she was around? Teasing was okay… but not if it made her genuinely upset.

Evie shrugged. “If you want I can call you Malfoy. It just seems impersonal.”

“And you want to get more personal with me?” Draco smirked. “Is that why you’re here?”

“No. I’m here to thank you.” Evie said, and he looked over to her in surprise. She was looking down at her mittened hands, twisting them together.

“Thank me?” He asked, bristling. Draco had a bad feeling about where this conversation was headed, and it was not a direction he wanted. “You already did, remember? You ambushed me that time after Quidditch practice.”

“You know what I mean. I’m not talking about the incident with the broom.”

“Oh, fuck off.” Draco snapped, and Evie’s head jerked up.  “I’m not going to sit here and listen to your pity. If you want to swap sob stories, go find Potter. He loves that shit.”

“I wasn’t going to mention your Boggart.” Evie said carefully, unperturbed by his barb. “I just wanted to say thank you for dealing with mine. You knew the cost, and you helped me all the same.”

Draco felt himself go deathly still. She was much too good and forgiving for his taste. Better to end this now before he said something he would regret. Teasing Evie was fine, but letting her into the shit storm that was his life was not a viable option. He snarled, “I don’t have time for your mushy gratitude. I want to be alone.”

She looked hurt now, and he could see her growing angry. That usually was the pattern to their conversations. She was kind and open, he was an ass to her, she got upset and then mad at him. Typical.

Evie scowled. “I’m sorry to have bothered you _._ I’ll leave right away. And I was not going to pity you, for your information. It’s the last thing you deserve. So what? Your Boggart is your bloody father. Life is hard like that. It doesn’t give you an excuse to act like an asshole to everyone around you! But I’ll stop there, because I’d hate to get to _personal_ with you, _Malfoy._

And with that, she turned with a huff and stomped away from him through the snow.

 

**_Evie_ **

_What an asshole. Honestly. I was trying to be nice._ Evie’s anger-filled thoughts circled around her head as she stalked away from Draco. _Hermione’s wrong; he clearly can’t stand the sight of me._

“Evie.”

She stopped in her tracks. Draco had never called her by her first name before. The sound of her name on his lips made her go weak in the knees. He sounded almost remorseful.

“I’m... sorry.” Her eyes went wide at the sound of his apology. “You were...kind to come and thank me.”

Evie whirled around, her heart fluttering inside her chest. Draco’s eyes met hers, and he strode through the snow to her.

“Your eyes are more blue than grey” She murmured, realizing it for the first time as he stopped a few paces away from her.

“What?” Draco asked, and she went pink.

“Nothing.”

“Let’s head back to Hogwarts then.” Draco said. “I’m not taking the blame for you getting lost out here. Nice hat by the way.” He looked sideways at her and smirked.

Evie sped up to keep pace with his long-legged strides. “It’s not mine, but thanks all the same. Neville lent it to me. Said my ears were all red from the cold.”

“I thought that it looked familiar.” He grinned. “You can spot that monstrosity from a mile away. It’s a rather bright shade of purple.”

“Hey!” Evie gave Draco a shove. “His gran knit this! It’s really warm, actually.”

He chuckled, and she wished he would laugh. She had never heard his real laugh, just his mocking one. They walked through the woods in silence, the snow drifting gently down and crunching beneath their boots. Evie caught a few flakes on her mittens, admiring their crystal patterns against the black fabric before they melted moments later.

“Do you think it’s true, what they say about snowflakes?” Draco asked suddenly, not looking at Evie.

“What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “You know… that they’re all different in some way. Seems impossible if you ask me.”

“Hmmm.” Evie considered this. “I don’t know, but I’d like to think so.”

Draco nodded, then, “Do you like the taste of snow?”

She laughed in surprise. “It’s just water. Why do you ask?”

“You were trying to catch snowflakes on your tongue on the way to Hogsmeade.”

“You noticed?” Evie flushed, and noticed that there were spots of color high on Draco’s cheeks as well. Had he been watching her earlier? Her stomach fluttered at the thought.

“You were being so bloody loud about catching one. That’s why I noticed.” Draco groused. “But why bother? It’s something little kids do.”

“I guess.” She replied. “But it’s fun to try and catch one. Kind of like a game. My mom used to say that snowflakes weren’t ripe until January. Every time it snowed, she put mugs out in our backyard. Once they filled with snow, she would pour chocolate syrup and sprinkles on them. Looking back, I don’t know how it tasted good to me. But I remember thinking it was the best part about winter.”

Evie pressed her lips into a tight line. Maybe she shouldn’t have talked about her mother. The fact that she was dead made it awkward for some people. It made Evie a little sad right now, but the memory was a happy one.

“That snow drink she made sounds horrid.” Draco said a moment later, causing Evie to laugh in both amusement and relief.

“It probably was. I haven’t had it since…” She trailed off. “You know.”

He nodded. “Did you get anything in Hogsmeade?”

“A chocolate wand. It tasted good, but it was just like any other chocolate really. Not that I minded though, because chocolate is amazing.” Evie smiled, “But I was expecting something more magical. Neville tried to get me to try a blood-flavoured pop but I was _not_ going to eat that. He said it didn’t taste like blood, but I wasn’t going to risk it. I ran out of time in Honeydukes, and I had to go with a chocolate wand. I could spend hours in there. I have a terrible sweet tooth, actually, so it was probably best that I had to leave eventually. Then we went to The Three Broomsticks. The Butterbeer I tried there was so good! It was very uh… buttery?” She blushed. “I’m rambling aren’t I? Sorry, I just really love sweets.”

Draco laughed at her embarrassment. Evie felt her chest go warm, like after she had swallowed a gulp of Butterbeer. It was his genuine laugh, and it was so… sweet. Like chocolate.

 

**_Draco_ **

That night, Draco dreamed.

_He was down in a dark pit of some kind, sinking deep into a thick, black mud at the bottom. He thrashed and flailed, desperate to free himself, but the movements only caused him to sink faster. He felt panic rise like bile in his throat. The grime was up to his chest by now._

_A light suddenly appeared above him. Golden and balmy, it cast a beam straight down to the bottom of the pit, centering on Draco. He looked up. A shape was descending through the dark towards him. It had massive wings made of stained glass. The light shone through the figure’s wings, casting luminous beams of every hue on the pit’s grimy walls._

_Draco felt his eyes grow wide. The creature (or angel, maybe?) was Evie. He could recognize those blue eyes and freckled skin anywhere. Her hair, however, was down. It cascaded down over her shoulders like molten gold._

_Evie flew down to him, wings beating with a rhythm like a heartbeat. When she reached the bottom of the pit, she leaned down so that her hand was stretched out towards his. There was a gentle smile on her face._

_“Draco.” Evie whispered. “Come with me. I can get you out of this. Give me your hand.”_

_“I can’t.” He replied, feeling tears prick at his eyes. “I’m in too deep. I’ll get you dirty.”_

_Her slender hands reached down to grasp his. They were so warm. He flinched at her touch, trying to pull away. She was much too clean for him._

_“You’ll get stuck too, you idiot.” He snapped, but she merely laughed, pulling him easily from the muck._

_“No I won’t.” Her eyes were soft, and she smelled of peaches. “I’m here to save you, Draco.”_

 

* * *

 

Draco jolted upright in bed, chest heaving and shirt soaked through with sweat. Bloody hell, what was going on in his mind? The dream was as vivid as a real memory, and it flooded his thoughts as he stumbled through the dark doom room and into the shower, stripping his clothes off quickly.

Turning the knob hard, he let the warm water cascade over himself, and reached for the soap. He could still feel the mud and ilk clinging to his skin. He shuddered, and began to wash himself. Draco felt a twinge as he washed his arms, and looked down to see his Dark Mark writhing beneath his skin. He took the soap to it, scrubbing mercilessly until the skin was raw. The Mark remained. Draco fell to his knees in the shower, the water pounding on his back and neck. Bowing his head, he grabbed a razor from the shower shelf and took it to his arm.

He winced as the sharp blade cut into the tender skin of his inner forearm, but he was desperate to rid himself of this filth. Yet he knew, even as the razor peeled away layers of his flesh, that the Dark Mark wasn’t going to be removed that easily. The darkness was in his blood now. He was tainted by it. The skin would heal eventually, and he had a feeling that the Mark would return. He growled in frustration, chucking the useless razor into the wall of the shower. It fell to the wall with a crack, breaking in two.

Draco watched as the torn skin beaded red, and soon blood began to drip down his arm. It mingled with the water, turning the liquid that swirled into the shower drain a cloudy pink color.

Thoughts of Evie regained his mind once more, and he pursed his lips. He had let his guard down around her, and was glad to have done so. Draco wasn’t going to deny it any longer. There was a certain… fondness that he had for her. A tenderness. A desire to keep her safe. He just wanted her to be happy. To keep that ridiculous smile on her face. Draco groaned. When had he become so bloody sentimental? Dammit all.

What had Dumbledore said? To follow his heart. He could care less that she was half-blooded and a Gryffindor. What did that matter? She was Evie. His heart pulled him to her. Everything about her felt _right._

But he could never act on these feelings. She was much too good for him. He would never be worthy of her. And if she found out about what was inked into the skin of his left arm? She would hate him. As she should.

 _I’m in too deep. I’ll get you dirty._ Draco thought to himself as sat beneath the spray of water, that was becoming colder with each passing moment. _But if I can keep you safe… that I will do. My soul is already damned, but I would gladly wreck it completely if it meant that you would be happy. Gladly._

Looking back down at the Mark once more, Draco felt the realization of all his thoughts come crashing down onto his shoulders. He was damned by this tattoo inked into his skin. He would never be free of it. Burying his face in his hands, he wept, and continued to do so long after the shower water turned cold.

 


	7. The Flying Cat

**_Evie_ **

Venturing out to the Owlery was becoming more and more of a chore, or so it seemed to Evie. Bundling up in her coat, boots, scarf, mittens, and hat; tramping through the snow to the Owlery; climbing the icy steps with care not to slip… Evie sighed as she tightened her scarf. It was quite the trek. She loved Clarence, and made a point of visiting him every week, but she couldn’t draw him anymore. Bare hands were not a good idea in this cold. And drawing with mittens on never seemed to work. 

_ I wonder why I even bother coming up here now.  _ She thought with a sigh, snow crunching beneath her boots with each step.  _ Dad never owls me; his missions are too clandestine. I’m used to being away from him, but going so long without any word…  _

Lost in her thoughts, Evie continued down the path to the Owlery. The snow glistened white under the bleak winter sun, making the world seem pure and idyllic. Forcing her more somber thoughts away, Evie sucked in a breath of the crisp, cold air and focused on the beauty around her instead. The castle was so lovely in the winter. There had been snow at Ilvermorny, yes, but never this much. 

The Owlery appeared before her, and Evie began to walk up the steps carefully. They were especially icy this time of year, and Evie did not want to slip. She supposed she could cast some type of spell to help melt the ice, but she couldn’t think of one. Too bad Hermione wasn’t here. She would have had one picked out in an instant. 

_ And probably a backup spell as well,  _ Evie thought with a smile. Suddenly, her foot slipped on a patch of ice. She let out a cry as she fell backward, only to be caught in strong arms a moment later.

“Honestly Marsh, you really need to get your head out of the clouds.” Draco Malfoy chuckled, his breath warm on Evie’s ears. “Am I always going to have to rescue you?”

Her heart began to palpitate at his closeness, at the feel of his arms wrapped around her torso. Evie swallowed.

“M-malfoy! What on earth are you doing out here?” She asked as he set her on her feet. 

Turning to face him, she saw Draco watching her with those keen blue eyes of his. “You’re not the only one who has owls coming in, Evie.”

“I know, but don’t most people have them fly into the castle?” 

Draco gave her an annoyed look. “Well, my reasoning was that up here no one could ask me about my private business. Seems I hoped for too much.”

Evie blushed, realizing he was referring to her. “Sorry.”

She hurried up the steps, praying that she wouldn’t slip again. Luckily, she reached the top unscathed, and stepped into the Owlery, breathing in the heady scent of hay and feathers. Immediately there was a screech from above her, and down swooped Clarence. Evie giggled as her barn owl landed on her shoulder, nuzzling her neck with his head. 

“Clarence!” She whispered, giving his downy feathers a few strokes. “Missed me drawing you that much? Greedy, vain boy.”

“An owl’s not a dog. Why are you petting him?” Draco commented amusedly, and Evie sent him a sharp glance over her shoulder. 

“Clarence is an owl-which is much better than a dog.” She replied, pulling the slice of ham she had brought with her from her pocket and feeding it to Clarence. Checking the owl’s talons and beak showed no sign of a letter, and Evie felt her heart sink a bit. Every time she came up here, there was a bit of hope that maybe-just maybe-her father would have written. Another visit, another disappointment. She sighed.

“You brought him food?” Draco let out an incredulous chuckle, breaking Evie from her self-pitying musings. “No wonder he’s fat.”

“Draco!” Evie gasped, chucking a handful of straw at him. “You can’t say that! You’ll hurt his feelings! And he is not fat; he’s...plump.”

“Bloody hell, as if that’s any better.” Draco snorted, then went suddenly stiff at the sight of a black horned owl swooping into one of the open windows of the building. 

He went over to the bird and took the message from its beak. Evie watched him scan the scrap of parchment, his already pale face going paler the more he read. Shoving the note in his pocket, Draco walked for the door.

“Draco?” Evie asked hesitantly. “Is everything alright?”

He turned back to her, his expression troubled. His lips were pressed in a thin line, and his blue-grey eyes had a haunted look to them. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.” She apologized.

“It’s fine.” He sounded dazed. “See you in Potions, Evie.”

Evie’s eyes went wide at his use of her first name. Draco, however, didn’t seem to notice, and hurried out of the Owlery. Petting Clarence absently, Evie wondered what the message he had received was about. It must have been bad news, considering how shaken he seemed. A selfish part of her wished he hadn’t left so soon. They hadn’t been alone together since their walk back from Hogsmeade last weekend. It would have been nice to have him all to herself.

“I really am selfish, aren’t I?” She whispered to Clarence, stroking the feather’s on the owl’s neck. “And really, Draco wouldn’t want to be alone with me again unless he had to be… right?”

 

**_Draco_ **

_ Nephew- we have some things to discuss. I’ll meet you on the outskirts of Hogwarts tomorrow at midnight. Be sure that you are outside the campus grounds because I can’t apparate inside them. Signal me at midnight with a green light.  Come alone and  _ **_don’t_ ** _ be late. _

_ -Bellatrix _

Draco took one last look at the scrap of parchment in his hand before tossing it into the fireplace in the Slytherin common room and watching it burn. His stomach twisted. What on earth could his aunt possibly want to talk to him about? She was a raving lunatic. Which made her all the less predictable, and all the more dangerous. Draco felt a shiver run up his spine.

He had to leave now if he wanted to be on time. Not showing up wasn’t an option, and he knew that Bellatrix would find a way to get to him.  Raking a hand through his hair, Draco stood and headed for the door leading out of the Slytherin dormitory. With his robes and scarf wrapped tightly about him, he crept through the empty hallways of the Hogwarts castle, wand tip glowing softly. Once or twice the sound of footsteps sent Draco scrambling behind a tapestry or statue, his heart pounding in his chest. The adrenaline was constant, turning every nerve in his body to a live wires. Finally, he was out of the castle and into the bitterly cold night, the wind clawing at his hair and robes. 

The sky was clear, a full moon casting the dark line of the mountains and forest into sharp relief. Draco hurried towards the tree line, crossing the Hogwarts bridge in order to get there, his shoes slipping on the ice. He grit his teeth as another wave of shudders and shivers hit his body, shoving his wand and hands into his pockets. His Dark Mark tingled and smarted; it could tell that he was growing closer to Bellatrix-she was one of the most powerful bearers of the Mark after all. 

Draco waited to signal her until after he passed the invisible line that shielded the rest of Hogwarts. Feeling his ability to Apparate rush into him, Draco lifted his wand and shot a pillar of green light into the sky. 

She appeared out of the shadows, an unhinged smile on her face and her wand in her hand. Draco held himself carefully, trying to steady his breathing. He wondered how Bellatrix could wear that thin black dress of hers in this cold. But all those thoughts scattered as she drew nearer, and he felt her dark eyes ripping him apart, baring his very soul. Draco swallowed hard, forcing himself to remain calm. 

“Good evening, Aunt.” He said cooly.

“Mmm… not so sure about that, love” Bellatrix tittered, “You see, normally I would say that it is good to see you… but not tonight.”

“And why is that?” Draco asked, trying to calm the panic that flared through his chest, a sharp, searing heat. 

Bellatrix smiled sweetly, but there was an air of mania to it. “I’ve been receiving some worrying reports about your newly developed habits at Hogwarts. Oh, don’t look so shocked dearie. The Dark Lord has spies in Hogwarts...even in your own house.”

“And what have your spies told you, Bellatrix?”

“That you have been acting overly fond of a certain Half-blooded Gryffindor.” Bellatrix looked at him through hooded eyes, and Draco tried desperately to school his features into indifference. “What was her name again? Oh…  _ Evie Marsh _ .”

His stomach dropped at the sound of her name, and Draco wanted to hex Bellatrix simply for saying it. It sounded filthy coming out of her mouth. His blood boiled, but at the same time fear shot through him. Who could have noticed the way he felt for Evie? Who would have reported it to Bellatrix? His mind raced. 

Sure, he had quietly been taking care of the students who teased her for having her head in the clouds and hanging out with Luna Lovegood. Some had taken more… harsh measures… to convince, but he had been careful about it. Had someone seen them walking back to Hogwarts together last weeked? He realized with a growing horror that he hadn’t been as discrete as he needed to be. 

“A halfblood?” He scoffed. “Surely you’re mistaken. Perhaps your spies aren’t as observant as you hoped-they’re clearly jumping to conclusions.”

“I hope so, nephew.” Bellatrix purred, drawing closer to him so that her breath rasped in his ear. “Because there is no crime worse than betraying your pure-blood line. It is up to you to continue the Malfoy name, Draco. And the time is drawing near for you to cement your allegiance to the Dark Lord. Do not let your infatuation with some Gryffindor sway you.”

“Aunt-” He began, but she cut him off with a wave of her hand.

“You will see no more of her. Focus on perfecting your magic.” Bellatrix snapped, her voice rising in pitch. It took all of Draco’s will not to flinch. “And if I hear that you are spending more time with her, there will be consequences. And you won’t be the one being punished.”

Draco knew better than to argue, and nodded. 

“Well, now it  _ is  _ a good evening.” Bellatrix laughed shrilly. “Or should I say, morning. Goodbye, Nephew.”

“Goodbye Aunt.” 

“And Draco?”

“Yes?”

Her jinx caught him before he could move to defend himself, and Draco crashed down into the snow, lying flat on his back. He tried to right himself, but he was paralyzed. He cursed, glaring up at Bellatrix.

“What the hell are you doing?”

She knelt by him, grinning cruely. “You were late, dearie. And we can’t have that. This jinx will wear off in a few hours. Until then, think about your motivations, and how you will act differently from now on. Do I make myself clear?”

He ground the words out, feeling a cold wetness seep into his robes the longer he lay on his back in the snow. “Yes, Aunt.”

Her lips were by his ear, and she hissed, “If you betray your house or blood, rest assured that I  _ will  _ know about it. And I won’t be happy. We wouldn’t want that, would we?”

“No.”

“Ta-ta!” She smiled, and then was gone, leaving only shadows in her wake.

Draco cursed, his body shuddering with cold. He tried to struggle, but it was if he was caught in amber. He was frozen-literally and figuratively. He let out a bitter chuckle, but quickly his thoughts turned back to Evie. Bloody hell, what had he gotten her into?

 

* * *

 

 

It had been two hours or so, and Draco had lost all feeling in his fingers and toes. He grit his teeth against the cold, staring defiantly up at the moon and stars. There was a slight burning sensation in his arms and legs, but whether it was the frostbite or the spell wearing off, he couldn’t tell. 

His strength was draining as well with each minute that passed. He was unsure of why, but it felt as if the frozen temperatures were slowly seeping away his stamina. It was odd, because the frostbite-surely that was what it was-both stung his skin and made it feel numb. 

Draco tried to move his fingers, and found that they twitched-just a bit. He let out a groan of relief. Finally. 

Slowly but surely, he would get out of this mess.

 

* * *

Draco opened his eyes groggily. Had he passed out? The cold was getting to him. His fingers and toes moved easily now, but that was all.

Suddenly, he became aware of a crushing weight on his chest. Craning his neck, Draco looked up to see a black cat sitting on his sternum, gazing down at him with eyes of liquid gold. 

He cursed, trying to push the creature off, but the spell still clung to his arms and legs like molasses. The cat mewled softly, unaware of his attempts to get rid of it, and the proceeded to snuggle into Draco’s frost-encrusted robes. It was warm, he realized, and decided to leave the animal be. Salazar, he was stooping low. If someone saw him like this, he’d probably be killed by his shattered pride rather than frostbite. But the woods remained silent and still, fresh snowflakes drifting down with each passing moment, so Draco allowed the cat sit on his chest.

After awhile, he managed to heave an arm and hand up onto the creature, using his half-paralyzed fingers to pet the downy fur of the cat’s ruff. As he moved his hand downward, Draco paused. The fur had turned to… feathers? 

“What are you?” He murmured, tracing the cat’s more bird-like back. He realized with a shock that he was feeling the outline of wings. Wings. Bloody hell, a cat with wings. Draco let out a weak laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.

His hand twitched suddenly, and then his leg. A shock ran through his bones and Draco let out a bark of pain as the spell violently released its vise-grip on his body. The cat yowled, springing off his chest and into the air. It hovered there, watching as Draco convulsed in the snow as Bellatrix’s jinx wore off. His seizure of sorts lasted for a few minutes, until with one last twist Draco fell still, panting and gasping for air. Rallying his strength, he managed to stagger up onto his feet, only to fall back into the snow with a curse. Bloody hell, he was  _ freezing.  _

Fumbling with his robes, which were stiff with ice, Draco grasped his wand and pulled it from his pocket. He muttered a quick drying spell and cast it on his clothes, skin, and hair, letting out a soft moan as warmth bloomed near his skin. His hands and toes began to tingle as the blood returned to them, but it was a pleasant burning sensation.

Pushing himself to his feet once more, Draco stood with his hands on his knees, waiting for the dizziness that gripped him to subside. Once it passed, he began the walk back to Hogwarts, trudging through the deep drifts of snow and pushing aside pine branches. He was so focused on getting back to the castle and a warm shower that it took him a few moments to realize that the winged cat was following him.

It hovered near his head, just a few feet to his left, wings beating like a second heartbeat. Draco took a better look at it. Aside from it’s down black wings-which matched the inky shade of its fur-the cat was...well...a cat. It was a female as well. She was a scrawny thing, and Draco felt sympathy for her, stuck out in the cold. She had kept him warm… perhaps even saved him from hypothermia. Maybe he had something he could give her in return.

“Here.” He rummaged about his pockets for some kind of food. Finding an old butterscotch candy he had long since forgotten about, Draco unwrapped the caramel, offering it on an opened palm to the cat.

“Sorry. I know it’s not much, but its all I have.” He said.

The cat didn’t seem to mind, giving the candy a sniff and then an experimental lick. Draco fought the urge to laugh-her scratchy tongue tickled his palm. Gobbling down the butterscotch in mere seconds, the creature let out a contented purr. Draco smiled in spite of himself. 

“Alright then, off you go.”

But she didn’t seem to listen to him. He continued walking, but the cat followed. Draco turned, “Bugger off! I’m serious! You can’t come into the castle with me!”

_ Not that I’d want you to either,  _ he thought with a snort. Nonetheless, the creature flew next to him, wings beating lazily. He sighed. This was hopeless. Perhaps he would have to take more drastic measures.

“I’m not your mother. Find someone else to annoy.” He snapped, the warmth from his earlier spell wearing off. Salazar, what he would give for a hot shower. “Stop following me or I’ll hex you.” An empty threat, as much as he hated to admit it. The cat merely blinked at him with baleful eyes.

Pushing a few pine branches out of his way, Draco emerged from the woods and stepped onto the Hogwarts bridge, his pace quickening with each step. He just wanted to be warm. How he had taken heat for granted before tonight.

A mewl sounded a few feet behind him and Draco groaned. The cat wasn’t going to be able to enter the castle-there was just no way-so he ignored the creature and kept walking. They finally reached one of the many side entrances to the castle, and Draco slipped inside, not giving the cat a second glance. She let out a yowl of annoyance as he shut the door tight before she could get in.

“Sorry,” He called, “but flying cats aren’t allowed in the castle.”

 

**_Evie_ **

Draco Malfoy looked like shit. Evie watched him rub his eyes with his fists like a child before turning back to his potions book. His face seemed paler than usual and there were dark, bruise-like imprints beneath his eyes. He looked exhausted.

“Draco?” She asked gently, “Do you need to go see Madam Pomfrey?”

He sent her an annoyed look. “And why, pray tell, are you asking me that?”

Evie shrugged, “You look exhausted. If that is the case, you need rest.”

“Don’t tell me what I need.” He snapped, and Evie’s brows rose. 

“I’m just trying to help.” She muttered, and turned back to the lionfish spines she was mincing. “No need to be so prickly.”

He had been on edge all morning. Maybe he was just cranky, but there had got to be more to it, or so Evie began to think. Draco’s eyes kept darting about the classroom, and he gripped his wand in a tight knuckled grip. There was an air of paranoia about him. It was unsettling to say the least. Vincent Crabbe came up and tapped him on the shoulder, resulting in Draco nearly hexing him. Evie had tread carefully around him after that. 

“Malfoy.” She caught him in the hall after class. 

“Sod off Marsh.” He snapped, walking faster to avoid her.

She grabbed his shoulder, pulling him to face her. Draco turned, looking down at where her hand clasped his robes. Evie flushed and let him go.

“You’re on edge. You look exhausted. Is there anything I can do to help?” She asked, and Draco’s brows rose.

“Help? What are you, my mother?” She saw him grimace after he said that, and noted the regret in his eyes at his words.

She waved away his guilt. “Don’t be like that. Just because my mom is dead doesn’t mean I’m going to fall to pieces everytime the topic of mothers comes up. Merlin, how weak do you think I am?”

His eyes softened. “I don’t you think you’re weak. I’ve never thought that-not for an instant.”

 

**_Draco_ **

Draco watched in satisfaction as pink bloomed high on Evie’s cheeks. He was being reckless just talking to her, but Salazar, how could he be cold to her? She had approached him, worried that he wasn’t sleeping enough. Bloody hell, it was pathetic. But her motherly manner around him was endearing, in a way.

“W-well, anyways,” He smirked at the stammer in her voice. “You should rest. I can get you notes from Defense Against the Dark Arts if you need them. That way you can nap or something.”

“How sweet of you, Marsh. I wonder, can you get me food while you’re at it? Perhaps a butterbeer? It would really help.” He said in a mock pleading voice.

Evie rolled her eyes. “Just because I’m taking notes for you doesn’t mean that I’m going to be your slave. I just- _ Merlin, is that a cat?” _

Her eyes were wide, and she was looking out the window next to them. Draco had sick feeling of dread in his gut, even as he turned to follow her gaze. He knew before he looked out the window that cat Evie was talking about was the one who he met last night.

And sure enough, there she was, hovering in the air outside the window. Evie let out a squeal of delight.

“It has wings!” A grin spread across her face. “Perhaps it’s a griffin of some kind? But there are no signs of bird-like features, other than the wings. Griffins usually have beaks…”

Draco rolled his eyes in annoyance, trying to ignore the way her brow scrunched in concentration as she puzzled about the creature. Why was she so enamoured by the cat? Salazar.

“Probably some freak of nature.” He snorted.

Evie glanced at the cat and then at back him. “Is it looking at you, Draco?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” He snapped. “It’s just a stupid cat. Yes, it has wings-so what? Roaches have wings.”

“That is a disgusting comparison. And how can you call it stupid?” She let out a disbelieving laugh. “It’s a  _ flying cat.  _ I think you’re just uncomfortable because it seems to like you.”

He glared at her. “It does not.”

“Does too! Look at the way it’s looking at you!” Evie said.

The cat  _ was _ staring at him intently. It felt as if she was peering into his very soul. Draco grimaced.

“This is pathetic. Let’s go, Marsh.” He snorted, grabbing Evie by the upper arm and pulling her down the hallway behind him.

“B-but the cat!” Evie protested.

“You’ll be late to Defense Against the Dark Arts if you spend anymore time gawking at the pitiful creature.” He said. “And I want to make sure you don’t miss any of Lupin’s lesson. I expect my notes to be perfect.”

Evie rolled her eyes, walking at a fast pace to keep up with his long-legged strides. “You’re ridiculous Malfoy.” 

“You like it.” He teased, and she smiled, seemingly in spite of herself.

“Oh my gosh!” Evie began laughing suddenly. “Look out the window Draco!”

He turned his head to see the cat flying next to them on the other side of stone wall. She kept looking at Draco with those gold eyes, as if to say,  _ you can’t get rid of me that easily. _

“Bloody hell.” He snarled, and Evie burst into another peal of laughter. “It’s like a leech! The thing is out to get me!”

He began walking faster, and then broke into a run down the hall, tugging Evie behind him. They ran through empty hallways, clambering down stairwells and past confused looking students and paintings. His hand moved from her upper arm down to her forearm and then all of a sudden, Draco was holding her hand. He didn’t even notice it, it just happened as they were rounding a sharp turn and she nearly tripped. Evie laughed through it all, and Draco found himself laughing too as they came to a stop outside of Lupin’s classroom. 

Evie was panting, eyes bright and cheeks flushed, a wide smile on her face. Draco knew that he was most likely even more red, and that the grin on his face was just as embarrassingly giddy.

“Go get me those notes Marsh.” He snorted, a smile still on his face. Releasing her hand, Draco ruffled Evie’s messy bun, which was in complete disarray from their jaunt through Hogwarts. What the hell was going on with him and all this laughing and careless touching? He must be seriously sleep deprived. Merlin. 

“Hey!” Evie exclaimed as he walked away, blushing hard. “Don’t mess with my hair, you git!”

Draco grinned, waving at her without looking back as he walked away. He really did need a nap, after all. Exhaustion was making him careless, and surprisingly less grumpy than usual. Draco’s good mood would have been gone in an instant however, if he had only looked down the side hallway to his left and seen the Slytherin who had been watching him and Evie outside Lupin’s room.

 

* * *

 

Slamming the door to the Slytherin locker room behind him, Draco stomped into a shower cubicle and wrenched the shower handle to hot, shucking off his Quidditch uniform quickly. That bloody cat! She would not leave him alone. It was driving him mad.

Even out on the Quidditch pitch, there she was, flying next to his broom. Everytime he stepped out of the castle during the past week the cat was there, waiting to try and nuzzle against him. She would even float outside windows nearby Draco when he was inside. There was no way of getting rid of her either. He shooed her and cursed at her, but he refrained from hurting her-that was cruel, even for him. The other Slytherins who had seen the cat teased Draco mercilessly for it, and only his threatening to punch them made the jokes stop. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, the cat’s devotion was endearing, even if it was infuriating. 

Draco stood beneath the stream of hot water, letting the warmth soothe his tight muscles, all the while trying to figure out what to do with the creature. He felt guilty everytime he left her outside in the cold. The creature was scrawny and matted. She could use a bath and a hot meal. Multiple hot meals. But Draco couldn’t just keep a cat with him at all times. All the same, he didn’t want to abandon her. The thing was obnoxious, but she clearly took a liking to him. Perhaps she thought of Draco as her mother. He let out a snort at that. 

It hit him as he was rinsing the shampoo out of his hair. The Room of Requirement. Potter and his friends had gotten the place to work for them, surely he could too. The cat could stay there, but since the Room couldn’t provide food, Draco would have to take care of that bit. He shrugged. Better smuggling food to the cat once a day than trying to avoid her twenty four hours a day.

And so that was how he found himself sneaking through the empty halls of Hogwarts, wand tip dimly lit with a  _ lumos  _ spell. It was about two hours from midnight, which meant that curfew was in full effect. Draco was careful to avoid teachers as he wandered towards the grand entry. He nearly ran into Snape, but luckily was able to duck behind a statue and whisper, “ _ nox!”  _ to put a damper on his wand’s light before the professor noticed him. It had been a close shave all the same.

He finally made it to the large oak doors leading out of the castle, and pushed one open with his shoulder. The cold night air whooshed in through the crack, and Draco shivered. That pitiful creature was dealing with this bitter cold. 

“Cat!” He hissed into the inky black of the night. He realized that he never gave the thing a name. Hopefully it would be close enough to hear him. 

Sure enough, the skinny winged cat darted through the door, and dropped to the floor immediately, shaking snow from its wings. She was shaking and shuddering, and Draco felt a pang of guilt for not bringing it inside sooner. Cats were not meant to roam forests in frozen temperatures. He gathered the cat up in his arms and hugged it against his chest. The creature nuzzled closer to him, trembling violently.

“Let’s get you warmed up and then find something for you to eat.” He said. “Honestly, you are pathetic. It’s a good thing I found you. Well, I suppose you found me, if I’m being honest.”

The cat mewled, and Draco smiled in spite of himself.

 

**_Evie_ **

“And see, there’s Snape, patrolling the halls in the basement.” Harry pointed to a pair of inky footprints moving along the map he had produced.

“Wow.” Evie’s eyes were wide. “This is brilliant!”

“Yeah it is.” Ron grinned, leaning over the table in the Gryffindor commons and looking at the map with her and Harry.

“I think it’s a load of trouble,” Hermione announced from her spot on the couch. The large fireplace crackled and popped behind her, and she turned back to her book. “You two always seem to get into mischief whenever that thing is pulled out.”

“Well,  _ you  _ always seem to go along with our mischief.” Ron pointed out, and Hermione humphed. 

“If you say so Ronald,” She responded, and the redhead went over to where she sat on the couch and began to continuing bickering with her. Evie turned her attention back to the map.

She had been reading with Hermione when Harry and Ron had come down with their magical map, but was immediately distracted by it. Harry had been more than pleased to show it off. 

Looking at the battered parchment spread out over the common’s largest table, Evie noticed another pair of footprints traipsing the halls near the grand entrance. Her eyes widened. It was Draco. 

“What is Malfoy doing out so late?” She wondered aloud, and Harry looked where she pointed. “It’s past curfew, after all.”

“Who knows. Up to no good, most likely.” He remarked.

Hermione met Evie’s eyes from the couch. “Don’t you two get any ideas about going out there to follow him. Snape is out and about too, perhaps Draco is doing something for him.”

“This late?” Harry asked. “Unlikely.”

Evie was curious, what was Malfoy doing out so late? He had been so tired earlier this week, when she had gotten him those notes for Defense Against the Dark Arts so he could rest. Perhaps is late night wanderings had something to do with that. She flushed at the thought of that day. He had been so open with her, and her fingers tingled with the memory of his hand in hers. His laugh as they raced down the halls together was a sound she wanted to hear again, and as much as possible.

“I think I’ll put this map to good use and get something to eat.” Evie announced. “I’ve been craving chocolate lately. There’s got to be some in the kitchens. Where are the kitchens, Harry?”

“Here,” Harry said, pointing to the location on his map. “Watch out for Malfoy and Snape though. They’ll get you in trouble for sure.”

Evie nodded. “Got it.”

“And bring me back some pumpkin pasties while you’re at it!” Ron called from the couch and Evie gave him a thumbs up.

“Honestly, are you trying to get a detention?” Hermione sighed, rubbing a hand over her face and looking very much like a tired mother. She gave Evie a pointed look. “Harry is right, look out for Professors- _ and students _ -in the halls.”

Evie took one glance at the map before heading upstairs for her robe, wand, and slippers. She was going to get some food… but Evie was also curious to see what Draco was up to. She had a feeling Hermione figured that out as well. As she headed for the portrait hole leading out into the castle, Harry called:

“Watch out for Malfoy! He’s in the area around the kitchen too!”

“Will do!” She replied, ignoring Hermione’s eyes on her back. Her friend had to have figured out her other reason for sneaking out. Evie was honestly surprised that Ron and Harry hadn’t either.

Ducking out of the portrait hole, she whispered, “ _ Lumos!” _

The tip of her wand glowed faintly in response, and Evie began her way down the darkened halls of Hogwarts, slippers padding against the carpeted floor.

 

**_Draco_ **

The cat was much happier now that she had bathed, and Draco headed out of the Room of Requirement towards the kitchens. His plea for a place to have some peace and quiet (and to store a cat) was answered, as the Room had supplied all his needs. A rather large bed (it could have fit two people), a bathtub (inserted into the floor-- it looked more like a jacuzzi), and a large window overlooking the frozen lake and snowy forest surrounding the Hogwarts Castle. 

The Room also provided a piano, which had made Draco go cold at the sight of. He played, but there had been no mention of that in his request. It unnerved him. He felt the ebony and ivory of the keys calling him each time he looked over at the instrument, but refrained from touching them. If he started playing the piano, he wouldn’t get up for hours. He didn’t play at Hogwarts--it would ruin his reputation--but he often played at home. It helped him think, and his mother liked it when he did. It soothed her.

Bathing Cat had been a nightmare. Draco had kept having to call her back over to him in the Room, since she kept flying around and trying to explore. She nearly pulled him into the bath at one point. Draco had  _ not  _ been pleased. 

He was rounding a corner with Cat close behind him when he collided with Evie Marsh. It seemed that they were both turning into the same hallway, which led to the kitchens. Draco cursed and Evie let out a shriek of surprise.

Draco was taken aback at the sight of her. She was wearing her robes and holding a lit wand, but he could see that she was wearing slippers and pajamas too. Her hair was in two braids, which Draco found for some odd reason incredibly appealing. He blushed-- _ blushed _ \-- at that though. Bloody hell, was she driving him mad.

“Draco!” Evie exclaimed. “What are you doing out here?”

“Quiet!” He hissed, moving forward to block Evie’s view of Cat. For some reason, he was hesitant about her knowing he adopted the winged creature. “Are you trying to get us caught?”

“Sorry sorry!” Evie whispered, clapping her hands over her mouth. “I was just off to the kitchens. I’ve been craving chocolate and peaches… are you alright Draco?”

Her brow was furrowed, and she looked at Draco curiously. He shifted, feeling Cat move behind him. “I’m fine.”

“It looks at if there’s something behind you.” Evie pointed out, and he cursed her for being so observant.

That was when, as fate would have it, Cat flew out from behind Draco’s shoulders. Evie’s eyes went wide in delight. 

“The cat!” 

“Lower your voice, Marsh!” Draco sighed, “Honestly. The thing won’t stop following me around. She thinks I’m her mother or something idiotic like that. I only brought her inside to feed her and give her a warm place to stay. Hopefully then she’ll stop bugging me.”

 

**_Evie_ **

“So you’re headed to the kitchens too, then?” Evie asked, watching the cat flutter about her and Draco.

He shrugged, looking uncomfortable. “Yeah. She’s really scrawny. I figure if she eats there, then she’ll become obsessed with the house elves and follow them around.”

Evie smiled. “I think you like her. You’re just pretending not to.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Cat is nothing but a pain in my arse.” He snorted.

She laughed, and Draco scowled. “You named her Cat? Isn’t that a little on the nose?”

“It’s a fine name. Sod off, Marsh.” He replied, crossing his arms over his chest. To her surprise, Draco looked a little hurt. Evie sobered up quickly.

“You’re right. It’s a lovely name. May I pet her?”

He shrugged. “She’s not mine.”

“Cat?” Evie called, and the creature floated down to her, hovering at eye level.

Reaching out carefully, Evie tried to pet the winged cat, but it hissed and tried to scratch her. Jumping back with a yelp, Evie watched in surprise as Cat flew away to settle on Draco’s shoulder, watching her with narrowed gold eyes. Draco burst out laughing.

“She hates you!” He said between chuckles. 

“She just has to get to know me!” Evie protested, but smiled all the same. It was hard not to after seeing him look so happy and carefree.

Draco grinned. “Let’s go get Cat some food.”

They made it to the kitchens, and since there were a few house elves up, Draco and Evie managed to get a tin of fish, a few bars of chocolate, and a bowl of milk. They sat by the smoldering fireplace at the center of the kitchen, nibbling on the chocolate and watching Cat drink her milk and eat her can of tuna. 

Evie hummed in satisfaction. “I love chocolate. Its food for the soul, I think. So are peaches. Too bad the elves didn’t have any.”

“It doesn’t surprise me. They aren’t in season.” Draco remarked, breaking his chocolate into pieces before eating it. “But the chocolate is good.”

“Mhmm.” She nodded in agreement. “Do you like this type-milk-best? Or white, or dark?”

Draco considered her question as he chewed, the firelight making his grey-blue eyes soften in its glow. “Dark chocolate. Milk is good, but a little on the sweet side for me.”

“I guess that’s true. I like milk chocolate best, but even more when it has caramel inside.” 

“Caramel…you would like that. It’s very sweet. The taste, I mean.” Draco smiled at her, and Evie felt her chest go warm. He was so relaxed like this, more than she had ever seen him be. It made her giddy. To think that she was sitting with Draco Malfoy in the kitchens at midnight, eating chocolate next to a flying cat. Evie could never have predicted it.

Cat finished eating and crawled into Draco’s lap. He snorted at her, but began petting the creature nonetheless. Despite his apparent annoyance with Cat, Draco seemed to be quite fond of her. The three of them sat in silence, Draco petting Cat and Evie watching.

“Cat, go to Evie. She can pet you.” He murmured suddenly, and Evie raised her head in surprise at his use of her first name. That was rare. Draco gave her a smirk. “Try not to scratch her eyes out though.”

Holding herself still as she could, Evie watched Cat cross the feet between her and Draco before coming to a stop. She watched Evie with gold eyes that seemed to look deep inside her. It was quite unnerving. Tentatively, Evie reached her hand out and touched the soft fur of the creature’s head, petting carefully. Cat let out a purr of contentment and leaned into her touch. Evie beamed.

“See? She just had to warm up to me.” 

Draco snorted. “Fair enough. Though I did tell Cat she could trust you… so really it was because of me.”

“Whatever you say Malfoy.” Evie laughed.

She continued petting the winged creature, trying to ignore the weight of Draco’s gaze on her as she did. There was silence between them, but it was peaceful. Evie enjoyed it, since it wasn’t often she found a person to sit comfortably in the quiet with. The chocolate was sweet in her mouth, the fire was warm at her back, and Cat’s fur was soft beneath her fingers. The warm contentment was making her sleepy.

Finally she sighed, and pulled her hand back from Cat, who yowled in annoyance. She stood, looking down at Draco. “It’s getting late, and I need to head back. Ron asked me to get him some pumpkin pasties, but I didn’t see any.”

“He could have come and gotten them himself. Lazy git. ” Draco remarked scornfully, but a smile played at his lips.

“I suppose I’ll tell him that.” Evie smiled. 

Draco stood as well, Cat rising to hover by his shoulder. They headed out of the kitchen and down the empty hallways in silence, the only noise the beat of Cat’s wings. Evie savoured the peace between her and Draco, knowing it was not likely to last. Was this what it would be like if they were friends? She couldn’t say that she minded it. This soft and quiet thing between them was growing with each passing day, and she couldn’t help but wonder if there was something more to it. She flushed at the thought.

At last they reached the bend in the hallway where their paths divided. Evie gave Cat one last scratch and looked up at Draco, who watched her with a tender gaze. He seemed sleepy as well, and it became him. The years seemed to fall away as he let out a quiet yawn, and raked a hand slowly through his messy white hair. How boyish. 

Evie smiled. “Goodnight Draco.”

“Night Marsh. Don’t fall asleep in Potions tomorrow.” He teased.

“You wish. See you then.” And with that Evie headed down the hall from him, her heart fluttering like a pair of wings within her chest.

 

_ D _ _ raco _

Draco slipped back into the Slytherin commons, heading towards his dorm. He felt peaceful and content, which was rare. Evie had a sort of calming effect on him. Draco liked it. That mood was immediately shattered however, when he saw who was lurking in the shadows by the door to the boys’ dormitory. 

“Careful, Malfoy.” Pansy Parkinson said with a lazy grin. “Late night wandering isn’t always such a good idea.”

He bristled. Her tone was accusatory, as if she knew what he had been doing. Draco snarled, “Sod off, Parkinson.”

“If you say so.” She smirked, and strode off.

Draco was left with a sinking sensation in his stomach. Whatever Pansy was up to was bound to be no good, and he had a bad feeling that it involved a certain transfer student from Gryffindor.

 


	8. Betrayal

**_Evie_ **

Evie gazed out the window of Professor McGonagall’s classroom, watching the snow drift down. It seemed that this wintery weather was going to stay until spring came. Not that Evie minded. She liked snow, bundling up into warm clothes, and hot drinks. All the same, she missed being able to wear short sleeves and sundresses. She had been born in the middle of the summer, so her father said that it was no surprise she preferred the happy warmth of summer over the bitter chill of winter.. Or perhaps it was because she didn’t realize how good a thing was till it was gone. 

“Are you still with us, Miss Marsh?” Asked her Professor, “Or are you daydreaming?”

“Sorry Professor.” Evie apologized, turning her attention back to McGonagall as some of her other classmates snickered. 

She buried her head in her book to hide her embarrassment. Evie knew she wasn’t the most attentive student, but her marks were fair enough. It was just that she didn’t understand how turning a flower into a cup was going to be useful in real life. Sure, the delicate petals curling upwards to form the teacup were beautiful, but in her opinion, the spell was nothing more than a party trick. 

“She’ll watch you for the rest of class.” Ron murmured to her, “I fell asleep once and she kept calling me out everytime I began to doze off again. Watch out.”

Evie nodded. “Thanks Ron.”

It was her, Ron, and Luna in his Transfiguration class. Harry, Hermione, and Neville didn’t take the class. Why Evie had decided to take it again this year, she couldn’t quite remember. 

Sitting a few rows behind her was Draco. Evie knew this, but didn’t look back. Mainly because Pansy Parkinson sat next to him, and that girl gave her the chills. All the same, Evie could practically feel him back there. In light of her realization of her feelings for Draco, his presence made her a bit more flustered than it used to. Luckily for Evie, Draco hadn’t seemed to notice for the past few weeks.

They were on good terms, talking (and of course teasing) each other during Potions and other classes they shared. Draco had seemed tired lately though. Evie had noticed this a few days ago in Potions, when he nearly spilled a vial of their essence of dittany when standing to use the restroom. There were dark shadows beneath his eyes, and a certain weariness in his step. Draco tried to keep others from noticing, but Evie saw through his act. 

It couldn’t have been because of Cat. They had entrusted the winged creature to Hagrid last week after Draco had nearly been caught by Snape while wandering the halls at night. It took a bit of convincing. Draco didn’t like Hagrid much, or so Evie could tell, but he finally agreed. Evie was sure that the exhaustion from feeding Cat was part of it. All the same, Draco was leaving meals early now to go down to Hagrid’s hut, or so the rumors said. It made her smile to hear that.

Something else was keeping him from resting. She wanted to ask if he was alright, but had a feeling he wouldn’t appreciate her concern. So she kept her thoughts and worries to herself, taking them out in drawings in her sketchbook.

She hadn’t meant to draw Draco. It just happened one day during Defense Against the Dark Arts. His head was bent over a book and his hair was falling in those gray-blue eyes… before she knew it, Evie had her sketchbook out. Drawing him became her way of cleansing herself of these murky feelings she had for him. There was a fondness, yes, but was it love? Evie was unsure. The bonds of trust between them were so fragile; they made her nervous. Being friends was more than enough for her. 

“Miss Marsh.” McGonagall sounded exhausted. “Please stay with the class.” 

“Yes Professor.” _Caught daydreaming again! Dammit, there are more chuckles and snickers this time._ Evie’s face flamed red. 

“Told you.” Ron whispered sympathetically. “It’s the worst, I know.”

Finally class ended, and Evie gathered up her books in her arms, letting out a relieved sigh. It was her last class of the day, which made the ring of the dismissal bell all the more sweet. 

“I’m off to Quidditch practice.” Ron announced with a grin. Having made the team shortly after Halloween, Ron seemed to spend all his free time working to improve his skills. And not nearly enough time studying, according to Hermione. “See you later, Evie, Luna.”

The two girls waved as the redhead ran for the door. Evie turned to the Ravenclaw at her side, who was busy transfiguring her flower cup into other dishware.

“Luna, I was going to go to the library and pick up a book. Want to come?” Evie asked.

“That would be lovely. I was meaning to get a book on the Crumple-Horned Snorkack anyways.”

They set off down the halls, Luna chattering about the creature that so many believed to be mythical, while Evie listened with a smile. It was odd to think that there were  _ mythical  _ magical animals. How ironic.

“Well well, if it isn’t Loony Lovegood and Mad Marsh.” Called a Slytherin boy from Evie’s year. His name was Theodore Nott, if memory served her correctly. 

She bristled at his teasing. For reasons she didn’t understand, some of the Slytherins had taken up calling her Mad Marsh. Probably due to all the time she spent with Luna. Evie had seen Draco glare at those who said it when he was around, but the blonde Slytherin was nowhere to be found. She had found that recently, any Slytherin or other Hogwarts student who messed with her ended up dealing with Draco. Not that he told her this, but her would-be bullies always paled when he was with her.

“Ignore him. He’s a git.” She told her friend, and the two kept walking.

“I was wondering, Marsh, how you even got accepted into this school.” Theodore continued, grinning when he noticed that a small crowd of younger students had gathered behind him. “You can barely stay focused in class. Dumbledore probably let you in out of pity. Poor Evie Marsh, all broken up about her dead, Mudblood mother.”

Evie froze, a pang of hurt spiking in her gut. “Leave me alone, Nott. I’m serious.”

“Make me.” He grinned, and Evie swallowed hard, feeling her anger grow with each minute he sneered down at her.

This wasn’t going to end well.

 

**_Draco_ **

“You’re the prince of Slytherin, Malfoy. You can’t just go defending Gryffindors.” Pansy said, and Draco fought the urge to roll his eyes.

Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle had cornered him after Transfiguration, complaining about how he wasn’t loyal to his own house anymore. Pansy even mentioned the fact that Evie wasn’t a Pure-Blood either, which Draco found ridiculous. Blaise stood by his side, silent. His friend didn’t care how Draco acted around Evie. Hell, he even helped rough up some of the bastards who picked on her. But he could feel Blaise’s nervousness from next to him, and wondered what reason there was to be intimidated. It was just Pansy. 

“We follow you because you’re ruthless…. And now you’re losing your edge around this girl?”

“I am not.” He snapped.

“Look, if you want her for an easy fuck, I get it. She’s all starry eyed and dim. Show some kindness where she doesn’t expect it and she’ll spread those pretty legs for you.” Pansy said cooly. Draco clenched his hands into fists at her words. “But going against your own house to get her into your bed? Too far.”

“Fuck off Parkinson.” He snarled.

She laughed cruelly. “Don’t tell me you have  _ feelings  _ for her.” 

That was too close to the mark. He felt the fire of his temper lick at his insides. It was smoldering for now, but if he wasn’t careful, he would explode. And that was the same as admitting he liked her. Draco scowled. “No. I don’t have feelings for her. Don’t be stupid.” Shoving Pansy aside, he began to head down the hall.

“I sure hope you don’t.” Pansy called in a sickly sweet voice. “Imagine what your father would say if he found out you were smitten with a half blood? I bet he’d have your  _ aunt  _ take care of her as soon as possible. To help weed out the temptation, of course.”

Draco stopped in his tracks, blood running cold at her words. “What did you just say?”

Pansy laughed. “The Dark Lord has informants everywhere Draco. I’d watch your step. Sleeping with a half-blooded Gryffindor is one thing… but defending her? I’d hate to have to be the one to break the news about your  _ Ilvermorny bitch _ .”

He turned slowly to face her. Pansy was standing with her arms crossed, a wicked grin on her face. Crabbe and Goyle were looking at her with stars in their eyes, clearly hoping to get close to her-and taste the power she possessed. She must be the spy that Bellatrix was talking about. How stupid of him to underestimate the reach of his aunt. Draco looked to Blaise, who gave him a stern nod.

“Pansy’s right. You’re a pureblood, and now is not the time to be messing around with half-blood scum.” His eyes, however, were full of warning and concern.  _ Careful. Prove it to Pansy that Evie means nothing to you. Don’t bring an innocent girl into this.  _ Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle were smitten with the Dark Lord, but Blaise was smarter than that, no matter how prejudiced and conceited as he was.

“I’m not defending her.” Draco snarled, wracking his brain for a way to convince them. “I just wanted an easy shag, alright? And if you want bloody proof, I’ll show you that I don’t care for her!”

He felt sick at the words, and even more so when he saw that the group standing before him was unconvinced. A smug grin spread over Pansy’s features. “Good that you feel that way, because I have the perfect opportunity for you to prove yourself. Follow me.”

With dread heavy in his gut, Draco trailed after her down the hall. He knew he had been set up; he could feel it. And as they rounded a bend in the hall to find Theodore Nott staring down Evie Marsh, his worst fears were confirmed. There was a small crowd surrounding the two, and Draco could see Luna Lovegood standing beside Evie, watching her friend with worried eyes. 

“Prove yourself. Or who knows what could happen to your little Gryffindor hussy. I'm sure your aunt would love to have some fun with her. What was the curse she was always so found of? Ah yes... _ Crucio. _ ” Pansy whispered in his ear, and Draco swallowed hard against the bile in his throat. 

“Marsh.” Draco called, bolstering his voice with false bravado, hating himself for what he was about to do. 

Evie looked up at him, clearly shaken by whatever Nott had just said to her. Judging from the haunted look in her eyes, it had been about her mother. Draco felt his hands grow clammy.

“Draco.” Evie said, relief clear in her voice. 

His gut churned. She was so trusting, expecting him to come and save the day. Potter would have done that, certainly, but not him.  _ Can’t you see?  _ He thought bitterly, his left arm stinging.  _ I’m one of the villains. You’re a fool to have trusted me. And now you have to deal with the consequences.  _

Draco turned to Nott. “What’s going on here?” 

“Malfoy." He grinned. "I was just talking about how the only reason Marsh was allowed to come to Hogwarts was because of pity. Dumbledore felt bad for her and her tragic past.”

Looking into her wide blue eyes nearly undid him, but he remembered his vow from that night all those weeks ago, crouched in the shower. If wrecking their relationship meant that she would be safe, he would do it. There was no other way to convince Bellatrix that he didn’t care for her. Draco knew he was weak. There was no way he could keep himself away from Evie; the last week was proof of that. Perhaps if he had laid low instead of ignoring Bellatrix’s warning… he cursed. No time for regrets now. If Evie didn’t want him near her, that would rid Draco of the temptation of going to her. This was the only way to keep her safe. Perhaps there was another path to take, but Draco could not see it. He just hated himself for the pain he was about to inflict upon her. 

“You were talking about her mother, huh?” He asked, not looking at Evie. He would lose all his will if he did. 

“Yeah. Are you going to defend her? I've heard that you've been doing that lately. Pretty lame, if you ask me."

“I didn't ask you, and that's not what I was going to say."

"Oh yeah?" Nott quirked a brow. "What _were_ you going to say?"

I was going to say that for someone so talented at magic, who was considered to be such a “great threat” to the Dark Lord, she was pathetic, really.” Draco sighed, examining his fingernails. 

“What?” 

The shock in Evie's voice made him to turn look at her. Her eyes were wide, and she seemed unable to process his betrayal. Salazar, he could still see hope in her eyes, however faint it was. She still had hope that he was here to help her and not to destroy her. In that moment, Draco hated and loved her for that.

“I’m saying that you would think she would have been able to defend herself from two Death Eaters, if she was all that good.” Draco forced a smirk on to his face, but inside he felt sick with self hatred. “She was good at potions… but not spells, I suppose. Hopefully you won’t end up like your mother, Marsh. What a  _ messy _ situation. Your Boggart was proof of that.”

“Draco…” Evie’s face crumpled, and he could practically see her fighting the tears that turned her eyes glassy. “How can you say that?”

Draco wanted to vomit.  _ I’m so close. Once I see hatred in her eyes… once I know that I’ve broken any trust she had in me… then I can stop. I can stop when she hates me.  _

“It really was no surprise that she couldn’t fight off the Dark Lord’s assassins. She was a filthy Mudblood, after all.”

Evie’s eyes went wide in horror, and a few tears slipped down her cheeks. As her shock faded, though, he saw what he needed to see. Hatred. There it was. Pure, dark loathing had bloomed over her features. She swallowed hard, and blinked away the rest of her tears. In an instant, Evie had pulled her wand from the pocket of her robes and leveled it at his throat.

“Draw your wand Malfoy. DRAW IT NOW!” Her voice was ragged with grief, and another tear slipped down her cheek, unbidden. “Or are you too much of a coward? You’re father’s a little to help you now, isn’t he?” 

Draco pulled out his wand, clenching his jaw. He didn't want to fight her. He didn't want any of this. But it was out of his hands now. He looked to the side to see Pansy watching him with a malicious grin. He had to convince her. 

Swallowing hard, Draco shrugged with false nonchalance. “I don’t need his help. But you might want to start praying for your mother up in the clouds to give you some!

_ “Expelliarmus!”  _ Evie yelled, and the duel began.

Their spells were fast and artful. Draco had never seen someone his year perform magic with such dexterity, other than Granger and Potter. He knew that Evie was talented, but her tenacity shocked him all the same. The students surrounding them began to yell in excitement, and madness reigned. 

Despite the emotions so clear on her face, Evie dueled with cold detachment. There was anger and hurt in her eyes, but she seemed to shove it aside from now, or so Draco concluded. He tried to do the same, but he was a mess of fear and guilt. It took all his energy just to fend off Evie’s attacks, and he knew he was dueling without his usual bravado and scorn.

_ Pull yourself together Malfoy.  _ He thought.  _ If you don’t act like yourself and duel with flair, Pansy is going to realize this is a sham. Get your head out of your arse and fight. Evie won’t be safe if you give a bad performance. You’re barely holding your own. You're better than this, dammit! _

Seizing a moment when her spell missed him, Draco took a deep breath and collected himself. Then he stretched his lips into a smirk and began a counterattack. A collective cheer went up from the Slytherins gathered around them as Draco put Evie on the defensive. She fought hard, casting jinxes and hexes left and right. Soon there was nothing but the roar of blood in his ears and spells falling from his lips. 

The crowd around them fell away, and Draco found himself drowning in the blue of Evie’s eyes. There was nothing but grief and rage in her gaze. She would never forgive him. And he deserved it. What had he done? How could he even look at her after this? After knowing how much he had hurt her? 

Draco saw Pansy grinning wickedly out of the corner of his eyes, and he let out a sigh of relief. There was satisfaction in the Slytherin girl’s eyes. He had convinced her. Evie was safe. His shoulders sagged in relief. 

That was his mistake. He lost his focus, and his opponent took her chance.

“ _ Stupefy _ !” Her charm caught him in the chest and Draco fell to the ground.

Evie pounced on him, wrenching his wand from his fingers and throwing it to the side. Her eyes were dark and her body trembled. One hand clutched his shirt collar, while the other held her wand in a white knuckled grip.

“I ought to kill you right now.”She hissed, touching the soft skin beneath his chin with her wand tip. A bitter smile twisted her lips unpleasantly. “And don’t you think that I won’t. You seem to know so much about my mother’s death. Then surely you know that the assassins were found slain beside her. Want to know why? Because  _ I _ killed them.  _ I _ took my mother’s wand out of her cold, dead hands and  _ I _ cast the killing curse on the both of them. They didn’t see it coming. All they saw was a little girl, covered in blood and holding her mother’s wand. I  _ destroyed  _ them.”

Draco felt his body go cold. There was a darkness seeping across her features, blotting out her usual warmth. This was her true rage; her righteous fury- all the emotions she usually kept bottled away had come undone before him. She looked like an avenging angel; a goddess of justice, powerful and unforgiving. He was afraid and yet in awe at the mere sight of her. She was his judge, jury, and executioner, rolled into one. And right now he wanted nothing more than for her to destroy him. 

Evie leaned in close to Draco, her breath caught between a rasp and a sob. 

“This is my mother’s wand.” She whispered into his ear. “It remembers the spells I cast. It will have no trouble ruining you.”

Suddenly, Evie was pulled off Draco by a furious looking McGonagall. Snape was standing behind the older woman, his fingers like claws as they dug into Draco’s shoulders, yanking him to his feet. If looks could kill, the expression on his face would have had Draco six feet underground in an instant.

“What on _ earth  _ were you two thinking? Dueling in the hallway?” Her voice was a bellow and she stared down the both of them. “Merlin’s beard, were you trying to get someone killed?

“You two are facing a semester’s worth of detention-at least.” Hissed Snape. “Come on, both of you. You’re going to see the Headmaster.”

The two professors turned, pulling Evie and Draco behind them. Despite the deep trouble that Draco knew he was in, and the feeling of self loathing that was consuming him, he couldn’t help but feel relieved. Now Pansy would have nothing to report. He had done what needed to be done. Evie would be safe- from the others, and him. His knees went weak in relief at the thought.

And, despite the twist his heart gave every time he looked up to see Evie’s wild blonde braid in front of him, Draco felt relieved. 

 

**_Evie_ **

After returning to the Gryffindor commons from Dumbledore’s office, Evie was met by Hermione, Harry and Ron, who had been informed by Luna as to what had occurred earlier that day. It wasn’t just them that knew, however. Evie had no doubt that the whole school would hear about her and Dra- _ Malfoy’s  _ duel. She refused to call him Draco anymore. It hurt too much. At least, she wouldn’t call him Draco out loud. His name was branded into her heart. She couldn’t look at him and see Malfoy. Not anymore.

Evie had fallen to pieces the moment she laid eyes on Hermione. She had held herself together throughout the meeting with Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, and Draco. Granted, she had barely spoken a word. Draco was as silent as tomb. Their two enraged Professors, however, had plenty to say. Both were very disappointed. The sentence for dueling in the hallway? One month of after school detention with Hagrid. That meant they would be in detention-together-till Christmas break. How would she bear it? Evie felt sick at the thought of seeing Draco’s face. Talking to him would be misery.

The moment Evie had walked into the Gryffindor common room, everyone fell silent. She felt her face burn scarlet. All of Hogwarts seemed to know of the duel. Ron told everyone to sod off, which, while not very helpful, made Evie smile slightly. Neville was the one to come up to her first. He immediately wrapped her in a big hug, whispering how sorry he was. Hermione was next. Her grip was fierce, and it made Evie want to cry right there. 

Being the practical and understanding friend that she was, Hermione sent Ron to find Ginny and Harry to find Luna. Then she had Evie take a hot shower and change in to warm pajamas, and then the two retreated to the girl's dorm.

Hermione, Luna, and Ginny let Evie sob in their laps, each taking turns stroking her hair and rubbing her back. Luna lit sweet smelling candles, Hermione cast silencing spells around her and Evie’s beds (which they had pushed together), and Ginny muttered her plans to beat that “bastard Malfoy” to a pulp. Evie cried for what seemed like ages, and when she wasn’t crying about Draco she was apologizing. Apologizing to her friends for making them take care of her, and for being a burden. And yet each time she began to ask for their forgiveness, the girls would shush her and hand her another tissue. 

“I just… I can’t believe he would do that.” Evie whispered. “I knew that he was bad news, but he was always kind to me. More… more than kind.”

“I know.” Hermione murmured. “It shocked me too. He did seem to have a soft spot for you. Perhaps he realized that, and it made him lash out the way he did. All we know for sure is that he is a hurting boy with all kinds of issues, and those who are hurting tend to hurt others, often for no reason.”

Evie nodded, “You’re right ‘Mione. Thanks.”

“He didn’t look very happy when he said those things.” Remarked Luna. “I can’t help but wonder if he was pressured by his friends to say what he did.”

“It doesn’t matter if they pressured him!” Ginny said fiercely. “He could have refused.”

Luna gave the redhead a pat on the knee. “I know… it was just a thought.”

“And, Merlin, I have to go to detention with him. Not to mention, we’re still partners in Potions. How do I even look at him without falling to pieces?” Evie asked, swallowing back more tears. “It’ll be hell.”

“Hex him.” Ginny snorted. “Or just ignore him. Probably best to go with the latter, since you already have detention till Christmas.”

“Honestly, I would not have pegged you for the dueling in the hallway type, Evie.” Hermione laughed. “And you thought you were meant for Hufflepuff.”

“Oh shut up.” Evie let out a weak giggle. “I’m never going to hear the end of that, am I?”

Her curly-haired friend smile. “Not likely.”

Eventually Ginny and Luna had to go, but before they left there was plenty of hugs and chocolate and words of comfort. Each girl did something special to try and get Evie’s mind off her heartache. Hermione cast her patronus charm and sent it dancing about the room, Luna sang a very long and warbled ballad about the Crumple-horned Snorkack, and Ginny performed a few tricks on her broom. (Granted the limited space made it rather difficult to do so, and multiple times during her performance the redhead bumped into walls and beds). But it was getting late, and the other two girls had to go.

Hermione and Evie lay facing each other on their pushed-together beds. Hermione fell asleep quickly, but Evie remained awake for most of the night, thinking. The dull ache in her chest had abated somewhat with the presence of her friends, but now it was back in full force. Evie blinked back tears, cursing herself. She should have known Malfoy would wreck her if he could, but her stupid feelings and fantasies had convinced her otherwise. What a fool she had been. 

_ Never again.  _ Evie thought to herself as sleep finally claimed her,  _ I won’t trust him ever again.  _


	9. The Grim

**_Evie_ **

The next few weeks were torture. Seeing Draco was agony, whether it was him laughing with his friends at meals, bent over a piece of parchment in Potions, or high up on his broom during Quidditch matches. Her feelings were a bitter cocktail of anger and sadness swirling within her. One minute seeing him made her want to cry, the next it made her want to punch him in the face.

Draco had chosen to hurt her. Evie still was in shock from his cruel words. It was as if someone else entirely had been talking to her. The sarcastic yet good hearted Draco she thought she knew was gone, replaced with someone cold and harsh. Try as she might, Evie couldn’t understand why he said what he did. His words and face had been cruel and cold… but his eyes… they had seemed sad. Why had he done it? Why? He had seemed so different in those moments, as if some evil spirit had possessed him. Evie wanted to grab Draco and shake him; force him to explain himself. These questions were driving her mad.

Potions class was a constant torment. They barely spoke to each other, save in terse words and bitten-out sentences. What was once her favorite class now was her least favorite part of the day. She dragged her feet when walking down the spiraling stairs into the dungeon, and even went so far as to fake sick a few days after the duel so she wouldn’t have to be in such close proximity to Draco so soon. 

Now Evie glanced over at him, sitting only a few feet away from her. It was such a short distance, but it felt as though there was a chasm that had been ripped open between them. Her chest ached, and she looked back at her open Potions book.

Despite her vow not to speak to him again, Draco filled her thoughts and even dreams, as well as the pages of her sketchbook. It was oddly therapeutic to draw him. The smooth slope of his forehead, the sharpness of his cheekbones, the purse of his lips. He had grown haggard over the past few weeks, purple bruise-like circles forming beneath his eyes, and his shoulders slumped more often. Something was going on with him, and Evie wondered what it could be. It infuriated her that despite all he had done, she still worried for him. 

Detention was fine, since she worked with McGonagall after school and Draco worked with Snape. But apparently Hagrid would need both their help next week and until Christmas, when their detention ended. That was what Dumbledore said. He wanted them to try and face their issues, rather than let hatred fester between them. But it seemed too late for that. Whatever relationship they had begun, Draco had smashed it all to bits, leaving Evie with nothing but shattered pieces and unanswered questions.

“Today we will examine the amortentia potion.” Snape’s words pulled Evie from her reverie. “Can anyone tell me what amortentia is?”

As usual, Hermione’s hand shot up first. Snape gave her a nod, and she answered, “Amortentia is the most powerful love potion in existence. It causes a powerful infatuation or obsession from the drinker, though it doesn't create actual love. That’s impossible to manufacture or imitate. The potion also smells different to each person, according to what attracts them.”

“Correct. Today you will be making a batch of this potion. Once completed, record what the smells you perceive are. Get to work.” 

Snape clapped his hands together, signaling the class to begin their work with his usual brusque attitude.

Evie and Draco had fallen into a simple rhythm in Potions, so that they could reduce the time spent talking to one another. Draco prepared the ingredients for the potion, while Evie manned the cauldron. Every word she spoke to him was ice cold, every movement around him awkward.

“We need Ashwinder eggs... rose thorns… peppermint… powdered moonstone… and pearl dust.” Evie read off the list of ingredients in as bored a tone as she could muster. 

Draco nodded, then left to get the ingredients. The process was long and tedious. This potion was by no means easy, which meant that Evie had to talk to Draco more than usual. For some odd reason though, he left her alone. She would have thought that after their duel his taunts would have become more cruel in nature, but instead, he ignored her completely. And when he did talk to her, it was with an air of cool detachment. Evie wasn’t sure which was worse. Merlin, she felt pathetic. 

About two hours passed by the time they finished their potion. It glowed with a pearly sheen and tendrils of mist rose from their cauldron. Both signified Amortentia’s completion. Once Snape gave it a once over, he nodded.

“Decent work. Now, record what you smell.”

“You go first.” Draco murmured as soon as the Potions Master had walked away. “Tell me what you smell and I’ll write it down.”

Evie leaned over the potion, breathing in deeply. Before she could stop herself, she let out a sigh of contentment. The scents made her hungry, in a way. She wanted to keep breathing them in. 

“I smell… mint. The earth after rain. Pine. Green apples.” She whispered, eyes closing. “There’s something else too… but I can’t quite put a finger on it. Wood, of some kind.”

Opening her eyes, Evie flushed. What the hell was she doing, going on about smells to Draco? The blonde haired boy said nothing, however, and dutifully scratched down what she said onto a sheet of parchment. 

“Here. I’ll write down yours.” Evie muttered. 

He handed her his quill. Their fingers touched for an instant, and Evie felt something like a shock run up her arm from the feel of his skin on hers. She cursed inwardly, taking the feathered instrument quickly. 

Draco, bracing his arms on their work table, leaned forward. His eyes immediately fluttered shut as well, and for the first time in ages, Evie watched in shock as a genuine smile spread across his face. 

“Bloody hell.” He breathed. “It smells fucking good.”

Evie flushed at the husky tone of his voice, then cursed herself for doing so. “W-what...what do you smell?” 

“Peaches.” 

A thrill ran through her. No… it couldn’t be… she held her breath. “And?”

“Rose. Chocolate. Pencil shavings. Snow.” 

Draco named each scent with absolute certainty, and Evie felt her stomach flip and churn. There was no way he could have smelt those. Those smells… they were  _ her _ smells. Peaches and rose from her shampoo. Chocolate, which she constantly ate. Shavings from her drawing pencils. Snow… Evie blushed bright red. She was jumping to conclusions. There was no way that Draco Malfoy, who had publicly humiliated her and ripped their fledgeling friendship to shreds, was attracted to her. 

A bloom of warmth spread like honey through her veins. But rather than basking in the sensation, Evie’s lip curled in self loathing. How could she feel so happy with this revelation, after all Draco had done to her? Was she a glutton for suffering? Did she simply want what she couldn’t have?  _ You’re so pathetic,  _ she thought to herself.

“Did you write it down?” Draco asked.

He was watching her with an intense gaze that she didn’t like. Evie noticed there was color high on his cheeks. Her stomach churned. Had he realized that those scents were inherent to her? Probably not. 

“Yes. I did.” She said cooly, gathering her things. The bell would ring soon. “I’ll turn the results in.”

“Marsh--” His voice was strained.

Evie whirled back around to fix him with a steely glare. “What?”

Draco’s gaze shuttered. “Nothing. Just don’t misplace the parchment.”

 

**_Draco_ **

Draco hated himself. Aside from being branded with his Dark Mark, having to tear Evie’s trust in him apart was the worst thing he had ever done. The moment haunted his thoughts and made it hard for him to sleep. The worst dreams were the ones in which he didn’t hurt Evie. Instead, he defended her and pounded that git Nott into the ground. When Draco woke up from those dreams, he was filled with a rush of happiness so potent it was almost dizzying. And then reality would crash down on his shoulders, leaving him empty.

Today was the day he had been dreading the most since Dumbledore had announced the terms of his and Evie’s detention. The two of them, along with some Ravenclaws that had been caught in the restricted section of the library (bloody sqaures), had to help the enormous man prepare for Christmas at Hogwarts.

It was cold, and snow was falling lightly as Draco made his way to the thatched roof cottage. Hagrid was standing outside, talking animatedly with the three Ravenclaws. To his other side was Evie, her back facing Draco. He knew it was her though, mostly because of the ghastly purple hat on her head. Neville must have lent it to her again. 

Cat was hovering in the air by her head, and Evie was petting her belly. The creature looked up as Draco approached, and then flew straight towards him. Evie turned, and when her eyes landed on his, her expression turned cold. Draco set his teeth. Cat only brought up memories of when the two of them had been… friends? Bloody hell, he had no idea. Still, the warm memory of eating chocolate with Evie in the kitchens had never  seemed farther away. 

Cat also reminded Draco of his meeting with Bellatrix. Her unhinged grin and manic laugh. Those dark eyes that glittered in amusement at his pain.  _ Stop feeling sorry for yourself.  _ Draco chided himself inwardly.  _ You knew what you were getting into. Stop acting like such a fucking baby about it, moping around like you got your heart broken. It’s the only way to keep her safe and you know it.  _ That thought managed to keep him from turning and running, but the constant ache of guilt remained with him; an anchor dragging him down into a dark, dangerous state of mind.. It was becoming harder and harder to breathe. 

Draco strode towards the group, trying to hide his growing discomfort. Hagrid noticed him, and a grin spread across his face.

“Ah righ’! We’re all ‘ere.” He boomed. “Perfect! It was so nice of Dumbledore to send yeh all t’ help me. Christmas is a busy time, an’ all.”

“It’s not like we had much of a choice.” Draco muttered, and one of the third year Ravenclaws snickered. 

“Maybeh not, but yer ‘ere all the same.” Hagrid said, “Now, I don’t want yeh third years wanderin’ off into the forest, wha’ with it gettin’ towards the evening and all, so yeh’ll stay here with me and help charm some holly branches into candle holders. Draco and Evie, I’d like yeh two to look in the woods for the Wilzerwald plant. Helps keep bugs off me pine trees.”

“What?” Evie exclaimed, cheeks already red with cold. “I don’t want to go into the forest with  _ him. _ He’ll hex me in the back and leave me for dead!”

The way she refused to look at Draco or say his name made him smirk. An angry Evie Marsh was better than a sad Evie Marsh. At least with anger he could get some kind of reaction out of her. Anger was better than nothing. Anger showed that he hadn’t broken her with what he had said, just knocked her down. It was the first time she had shown anger towards him since their duel, and it sent a rush of relief flooding through Draco.

“Yeah. I’m not going to the forest--at night too--with a bloody Gryffindor.” He snapped, though his annoyance was a farce. “She’s going to look for a way to get me killed.”

Evie spun on him, her eyes glinting. “You git-” 

“Enough, both of yeh!” Hagrid bellowed. “Smatter of fact, these are direct orders from Dumbley-dore himself; that yeh two work together. So unless yeh want to take it up with him, follow my directions.”

He handed Evie a grubby piece of parchment and shoved a lantern at Draco before continuing. “This here is all yeh need to know abou’ the plant. I need abou’ three sprigs of it for me potion. ‘Urry now, the sooner yeh go the sooner yeh’ll be done. Not to mention it’s gettin’ dark out.”

“Thanks for the reminder.” Evie grumbled, and stalked off in the direction of the forest. 

With a long sigh, Draco followed. He wasn’t sure how he was going to manage being alone with her for this long without spilling his guts. Still, that wasn’t something he could do. But dammit all, he wanted to back out of his stupid plan and tell her everything. Just enough so that she wouldn’t look at him with loathing in her eyes everytime they were together. 

Regret. Guilt and regret. Those were the two things weighing him down. But if he gave them up, it could put Evie in danger. 

The inner turmoil was tearing him apart. So Draco did what he knew wouldn’t cause a problem. He walked.

 

* * *

 

Draco was going to go insane. They had been walked for at least a half hour in this damn forest and there was no sign of the damn plant that Hagrid had sent them in to get. Not to mention the snow was beginning to fall harder, and night had fallen.

“Are you sure that you know what you’re looking for?” He snapped at Evie. She had walked ahead of him their whole journey through the forest. That, combined with the cold, was fraying his last nerve.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Evie snarled, turning to look at him. She shoved the parchment at him. “Here. You look for it, if you think I’m doing such a bad job.”

Draco grabbed the paper from where she had thrust it at him. It was a rough drawing, clearly haphazardly done by Hagrid himself. The notes were written in an illegible script. There was no way they could find the plant on these instructions alone. He studied it with growing annoyance. Evie, standing at the other side of the clearing they had stopped in, watched him with a look of smug satisfaction.

“How the hell are we supposed to find this?” He groaned. “The drawing looks like it was done by an ape.” 

“I don’t fucking know.” Evie raked a hand through her hair, clearly as frustrated as he was. Draco’s brows rose at her harsh language.

“Watch your tongue, Marsh.” He chided, forgetting that he was supposed to be acting like he couldn’t stand the sight of her. 

“Watch your back, Malfoy.” Evie shot back. “We’re all alone in these woods. It wouldn’t be that hard to hex you and then act as if some ‘accident’ had befallen you.” 

“Please. Dumbledore would know that it was you in an instant. The man is part god.” Draco snorted. 

Evie’s lips twitched, and his heart leapt. Was she going to smile? No. She noticed him watching her and the expression was quickly replaced with one of disgust. 

“Well, we need to think of a better way to look for this thing.” She said, then her eyes widened. “Of course. Merlin, I’m an idiot. We--I,” She quickly corrected herself, “Could just use an Accio spell.”

Draco let out a growl of frustration. “How come you couldn’t have thought of that earlier, before we ended up miles into this bloody forest?”

Evie, who was drawing her wand, glared at him. “You could have thought of this too, you know.” Raising her wand she called, “ _ Accio Wilzerwald! _ ”

There was a rustling in the bushes across the clearing, and they turned. Draco raised the lantern, peering into the gloom.

“Here it comes.” Evie sighed with relief. “Finally, we can get out of this godforsaken forest.” 

But what broke from the bushes was not a plant. It was not even close. Draco felt his blood run cold, and Evie let out a horrified gasp. What had emerged from the forest was a huge, black dog. It looked to be about the size of a bear. Draco strode forward, tugging Evie by the hand.

“Let go of me.” She snarled, slapping his hand away. “What the hell is that thing?” 

Draco thought back to third year, and his eyes widened. “It’s a Grim. A massive dog. In Divination, its an omen of death.”

“I don’t need a summary of it’s significance.” Evie hissed, “What do we do?”

The creature took a step forward, it’s massive paws leaving deep imprints in the snow. It watched them carefully, golden eyes scanning the clearing and nose twitching.

“I’m going to try and cast a hex on it to stop it.” Draco murmured. “When I do, you need to get the hell out of here.”

“What? I’m not just going to leave you to get mauled by this thing!”

“You don’t have a choice.” 

“Says you. You’re being such a boy. Stop thinking with what’s between your legs and start thinking with what’s in your head.” Evie snapped. “I’m the better fighter. I’m not leaving.”

“Bloody hell, just go Marsh.” He growled. 

Draco reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his wand, them dropped the lantern to the ground. The Grim’s eyes latched onto Draco, and it sprung forward. Raising his wand Draco shouted, “ _ Stupefy!” _

The hex caught the dog in the chest, and it stumbled backwards. Draco grinned in satisfaction. He turned. To his annoyance, Evie was standing behind him still.

“I thought I told you to run.” He said.

Her eyes flashed. “I told you, I’m not leav-- _ behind you! _ ”

He whirled around to see the Grim shaking off his spell as if it meant nothing. It lunged forwards again, and Draco stumbled backwards. 

“ _ Stupefy! _ ” Again, the spell only held for half a minute before the beast broke free of it. Draco felt his stomach drop. What was this thing?

“Run! Run damn you!” He snarled, hefting his wand firing another spell at the Grim, looking back at her. 

“No!” Evie yelled, then cast a hex of her own. “Look out!”

The Grim’s mighty paw caught him in the chest and knocked him onto his back. Draco hit the snow covered ground hard, the air pushed from his lungs with a woosh. He made to sit up and felt a stinging pain in his side. Reaching beneath his jacket and shirt, Draco placed a hand to the spot. There was blood, but pressing gingerly to the wounds he found that they were fairly shallow. He closed his eyes for a moment, relief washing over him.

_ “Draco!” _

The scream broke through the cold night air. Evie. Why the hell was she still here!? He had told her to run. Glancing over his shoulder, Draco saw that his wand was lying a few paces nearby, but the Grim wasn't letting up. Evie had hexed the creature, but it didn’t seem to spare her more than passing glance. It prowled forward towards Draco, preparing to pounce. 

He scrambled backwards from the massive dog, breath sawing in and out of his chest. The Grim drew back its paw once more, this time with sharp claws exposed. Draco scrambled backwards on all fours, praying that Evie was running as far away as she could. 

Suddenly there was a scream of: “ _ Protego _ !” And Evie Marsh threw herself in front of Draco. He scrambled to grab his wand, grateful for the moment of cover she had given him. The Grim’s swipe hit the shield Evie had cast, the impact causing her to lose her grip on her wand. Before Evie could react, the creature struck out at her again. 

“Evie!” Draco yelled, lunging for her, only to watch in horror as the clawed paw caught her in the stomach.

Evie screamed in pain and fell backwards, then fell still. The Grim leaped forward, jaws latching onto her arm and dragging her towards the forest around them. There was a horrible snapping noise as Evie screamed and kicked to get free.

“No!” Draco roared, pushing himself to his feet and pointing his wand at the beast. “ _ Petrificus Totalus!”  _

The creature’s limbs went stock still, and it became like stone. Draco stumbled towards Evie, who was crying softly in pain. Her arm was still caught in the jaws of the beast, the mangled sight of it caused Draco’s stomach to turn. 

“It’s going to wake up again!” Evie cried out in panic, tears running down her face. She was lying on the ground, body curled around her hurt arm. “It’s going to wake up.”

“No it’s not. Only a counter spell can release it now.” He growled, grabbing the Grim’s jaws and working to pry them apart. A scream of agony tore from Evie’s throat, and Draco’s whole body shuddered. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He choked out, his gut roiling at the sight of her in so much pain. “I have to get your arm out so that we can get out of here. It’s going to hurt a bit more though. I’m sorry. Hang on.”

She nodded, gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut. Draco tugged at the beast’s mouth, the jaws finally opening like a rusted gate. Evie whimpered, pulling her arm free and cradling it to her chest. Draco dropped to his knees beside her, careful to keep an eye on the Grim. The wound on his side throbbed in pain as he did so, but he ignored it. It was too shallow to pay attention to now. Evie was more important. 

Her wand. It lay a few feet away from him. Reaching to his left, he grabbed her wand and stuck it in his coat pocket. He didn’t want her to lose it. 

“Your stomach.” Draco said, helping her sit up. “Is your stomach alright?” 

Evie nodded, then looked at her arm. Her eyes went wide and her face went pale. “My arm.”

“I know, Merlin, I know, but you’re going to be fine. We just need to get back to Hogwarts.” Draco said with as much confidence he could mutter. “Can you walk?” 

“I-I think so.” 

She pushed herself up, teetering slightly. Evie clenched her jaw. A dark stain was growing rapidly through the sleeve of her coat. 

“You need to staunch the bleeding.” Draco said. He unwrapped his Slytherin scarf from around his neck. “Here, use this to put pressure on where it’s bleeding. Try not to mess with the elbow though; that’s what looks broken.”

“I don’t need your scarf. I’ll use my own.” She said, pulling her own scarf off before winding it around her upper forearm where the Grim’s teeth had pierced her skin. Draco glanced back at the creature. It remained still, and he breathed a sigh of relief. 

Evie said, and began walking in staggered steps. “Let’s go.”

She got two feet before falling to the snow with a cry of pain. Draco knelt by her. She was weak from blood loss.

“Fuck it. You can’t walk like this. I’m going to carry you.” Draco announced. 

“No. I don’t need your help.” It came out as a snarl. Evie was pale and shaking, but her expression was fierce.

He sighed. “Please, Evie. Hate me all you want later, but please let me carry you right now. You’ve lost blood. Trust me.” 

She glared at him, blue eyes burning with cold fire. “I’ll die before I trust you again.” 

Her words were a spear straight through his heart. What had he expected? This was the payment for what he had done.   _ And despite all my useless cruelty towards her, she still ended up getting hurt. What good am I?  _ His stomach churned.

“Look, you don’t need to trust me.” Draco murmured, “Just put your good arm around my shoulder.”

She studied him for a moment, eyes narrowed. Then Evie draped her uninjured arm around his shoulder. Draco put one arm beneath her shoulders and with the other he supported the bend of her knees. With a grunt, he lifted Evie into his arms.  _ Shit.  _ The movement and her weight caused his wound to ache more.  _ Pull it together Malfoy.  _ He hissed to himself.  _ She’s smaller than you and barely weighs anything. You’re fine. Honestly, stop acting like a bloody Hufflepuff.  _ Evie tightened her grip on him, head resting on his shoulder.

“My wand. Where is it?”

“My pocket.” Draco said. 

“Give it to me.” The words were bitten out. Did she really distrust him that much? Draco didn’t want to know.

He passed her the wand, and Evie took it with her good hand, clutching it tightly. There was no thank you. Not that he deserved one.

Silence reigned. 

_ It’s a good thing that I know these woods so well.  _ Draco thought.  _ My meetings with Bellatrix helped somewhat after all.  _ Turning towards the castle, he began the long walk back to Hogwarts.

 

**_Evie_ **

Her arm was burning. It was burning with a fire that lit her nerves aflame. They smoldered constantly, sending spikes of agony up her arm and to her neck and torso. Evie clenched her jaw, leaning in closer to Draco. He was surprisingly warm, and she felt so cold. Her anger had long drained out of her, and the occasional words she snapped at Draco were out of pure stubbornness. Let him think that she was still angry. In reality, she was exhausted.

The woods were quiet, save for the rasp of their breathing and the crunch of Draco’s boots in the snow. He had been carrying her for a mile or so now. Surely his arms were growing tired. Evie wondered why he would do this for her. She hoped that any Hogwarts student would have helped her, and she was sure they would have. Except that the way Draco helped her was different. The fear in his voice as he cried out her name when the Grim had lunged for her, the gentleness with which he touched her ruined arm… he was such a puzzle. And none of the pieces were fitting together, no matter how hard she tried.

Evie breathed in, trying to steady herself. And that was when she smelt it. Pine. Pine and mint and green apple and wood and the earth after rain. Her Amortentia potion.

It was the last straw. Merlin, she was so  _ tired.  _ Frustration and pain and sorrow rose in her chest, and before Evie could stop herself, she began to cry. Her body shuddered with sobs and she whimpered when the vibrations reached her injured arm. Draco stilled, pausing his walk and looking down at her. She looked away. 

“Marsh?” The question was tentatively asked. 

“Why?” She whispered.  _ I have to know _ . “Why did you say what you did?”

He was silent. She looked up at him. Draco’s face showed his emotions clearly, without a filter. He was guilty and remorseful… but there was something else. Evie wasn’t sure why he’d had given up his act of cold indifference, but she didn’t care. She wanted to know why he had ripped whatever they had had to shreds. 

“I thought that we were friends. I thought that…” Her voice broke and she sucked in a deep breath before saying, “It didn’t feel real. When you said what you did. It felt like an act to me.” 

“I had to. You don’t understand.” 

Evie pulled back so that she could meet his gaze, her anger returning somewhat. “Then make me understand, damn you! I deserve that at least.”

Draco’s face twisted in agony, and Evie saw for the first time the true pain lurking behind his eyes. “I… I can’t explain it.” 

Evie slumped against him, the pain momentarily causing spots to dot her vision. She let out a long sigh, swallowing back the rest of her tears. 

“You could at least try.”

Her words hung in the icy air. With her head against his chest Evie could feel the heartbeat that thundered against her ear. He was afraid. What the hell was going on? She was too tired to argue with him anymore, though, so she stayed quiet. 

“I’m selfish.” Draco said suddenly. 

“What?”

“I’m selfish. Because I shouldn’t tell you about this because it will only put you in danger. But...” He paused, huffing a bitter laugh. “But I’m selfish.”

“You’ve mentioned that.” Her voice was sharp.

“I know. I’m sorry, It’s just I…” He struggled for words. “I didn’t want to say it.” 

Evie meant to snap at him, but her anger melted away the moment she saw the forlorn look in his eyes. She murmured, “Then why did you?”

“I said it to keep you away from me. It’s not safe for us to be friends.” Draco said, jaw clenching. 

“Not safe?”

“Yes.” He let out a weary sigh. My family is connected with Voldemort. And that means that I have certain… expectations I have to adhere to. My Aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange, has spies in Hogwarts. Some of the students keep an eye on me.”

Evie gasped. “Your Aunt is Bellatrix Lestrange?”

A nod. 

He continued. “She found out that we were becoming friends, and made it  _ very  _ clear to me that she did not approve of you. She said that the consequences of being friends with you wouldn’t be pleasant ones. So when I saw Theodore Nott saying those things to you, I couldn’t defend you. Salazar, I wanted to pound that bloody git into the ground. But Pansy was watching and I couldn’t-”

His voice broke off, and he swallowed hard. Evie stared up at him, frozen in shock. So it had all been an act. When Draco spoke again, his voice was hoarse.

“I hated myself for saying what I did. I didn’t mean a word of it. And I don’t like seeing you cry.” Maybe it was the cold, but spots of color appeared high on his cheeks. Draco muttered, “It’s annoying.”

“Why didn’t you just explain the situation to me? If I knew that being with you was dangerous for you, I would have stayed away.”

“No.” He came to a halt, his eyes flashing as he looked down at her. “This is not about me. She said she was going to hurt you. I don’t give a damn about what happens to me. But you? You’re innocent. I couldn’t let her get to you. She’s a lunatic… she’s…” He shuddered. “Perhaps we could have stayed away from each other. But I had to make sure there was no temptation for me to be near you. It was easier to have you hate me. So you’d leave me alone. So you’d be safe. I’m not someone you can just become friends with.”

“You think that the last few weeks have been easy--for either of us?” Evie snapped. 

“No. Of course not. I regretted those words the minute they left my mouth.” Draco said. “But I was desperate to prove to Pansy that we weren’t friends.”

“I see.” She said, then shuddered. The pain in her arm was growing worse. Glancing at the scarf she had wrapped around her forearm, Evie felt panic spark in her gut when she saw that the fabric was soaked through with blood. 

“Marsh?” Draco’s voice seemed far away. “We’re almost back. Just hold out a little longer. Don’t you dare faint on me.”

A throb of agony pulsed through Evie’s body, and her vision spotted. The cold had seemed to grow deeper, seeping into her bones.. “Draco… I don’t feel so good.” 

“I said don’t faint on me.” He snapped, picking up his pace. “If I show up with you all bloody and unconscious in my arms, everyone will blame me for this. I don’t want to be in detention for the rest of my life, believe it or not. So hang on.”

She heard the note of panic in his voice, but Evie felt too tired to become anxious herself. The edges of her vision were blurring.  _ Shit. How much blood have I lost?  _

“Quit closing your eyes dammit!” Draco’s face swam above her, his eyes wide. 

“Sorry…” She said blearily. “But I think I’m gonna go to sleep now.”

He cursed once more, and Evie could have sworn when she turned her head she saw the glow of Hogwarts. Then shadows spread across her field of sight, and everything went dark. 


	10. Unknown Feeling

**_Evie_ **

Evie woke slowly, blinking a few times before fully opening her eyes. She was lying in a cot in the Hospital Wing. It looked to be mid morning. The sun’s golden rays streamed in through the tall windows, warming her face. Evie sat up cautiously, expecting to feel soreness or sharp pain, but her arm was good as new. She felt a smile spread across her face. Even the bruising from where the Grim had knocked her in the stomach seemed to be gone. 

Raising her arms above her head, Evie began stretching when she noticed a presence at her bedside. Draco Malfoy was fast asleep in a chair beside her. He looked so peaceful, head pillowed by this arms and resting at the edge of her bed. She watched him for a while, knowing that if he woke up he would call her creepy. With a sigh, Evie turned away from him and looked out the window across from her bed. Then, she went through everything he had said to her last night as he carried her through the forest. She analyzed his gestures and mannerisms. _What he said b_ __efore we duel_ ed was an act. But can I really trust that?  _ Her stomach churned.  _ What if this is some kind of sick joke he and his friends are playing on me? _

“Marsh?”

Draco was awake, sitting up slowly and watching her with a careful expression. 

“I don’t know if I can trust you.” Evie whispered, looking down at her hands. “What you said hurt me, Draco, even if it was an act. You betrayed me. You broke my trust. I know that you had your reasons, but it's still hard to believe. How do I know that this isn’t another cruel trick you and your friends are playing on me?”

She couldn’t look at him, for fear of what truths might lie in his eyes. Then hands covered her own. Evie glanced upwards in surprise. Draco’s skin was rough and calloused from gripping wands and broomsticks, and yet it was so warm. His eyes locked onto hers. There was fierceness in them that she had never seen before.

“I swear to you, all that I’ve said is true.” Draco said, his voice firm. “I know that I don’t deserve a second chance. I’m so sorry for what I said. And I’m sure this is the last thing you want from me… but, if you want… I’d like to be friends.”

Evie blinked. She couldn’t recall a time where the Slytherin boy had spoken about his feelings so plainly. She took a moment to think over what he had said, feeling Draco's eyes on her while she did so. 

“I believe you.” Evie said finally. 

“You do?” He was surprised.

She nodded. How could she not? Despite how cruel his words had been, he hadn’t meant them. He was trying to protect her, even if it might not have been the best plan of action. But his aunt was no doubt watching him through Pansy and other students.  _ You must have been desperate. To keep me safe from you and your family.  _

His hands were still clasped in hers. Evie squeezed them, then said, “And I forgive you. For what you said.” 

Draco looked up at her, eyes wide. “No. Evie. I don’t deserve it. I hurt you. I-”

She cut him off. “Forgiveness isn’t about what you deserve. It’s about moving on from the past. And second chances. In this case, at least.”

He swallowed hard. “Thank you.”

Evie nodded. There was silence for a moment, and in that instant Evie realized that Draco still clasped her hands in his. Her face went pink. Draco, however, seemed to be lost in thought.

“Oh!” His face lit up. “I almost forgot. Here. I got these for you, earlier this morning. Don’t tell Madame Pomfrey though. She thinks I stayed in bed this whole time.” 

Releasing her hands, he reached under the chair he was sitting in and pulled out a small paper bag. Draco shoved it towards Evie, looking away as she opened it. Oddly enough, he seemed embarrassed.

It was a bag of chocolate. Evie smiled, taking one from the bag and popping it in her mouth. Her eyes closed as she bit into the sweet, then opened suddenly. She looked at Draco in surprise.

“They’re caramel!” 

Still refusing to look at her, he snorted, “Well of course they are. They’re your favorite. And I only know that because you never shut up about how much you like them.” 

“Here.” She passed him a truffle with a smile. 

Draco accepted it, though his face twisted slightly after eating the chocolate. “It’s okay, but I told you, I don’t like sweet things that much.”

“I know I know. Just thought I'd try.” Evie said, eating another. She turned to him, looking into his steel blue eyes. “Thank you for these. And thank you for saving my life.”

Draco froze, swallowing hard. His face turned cold. “No. Don’t thank me. It’s the least that I could do, after… ” He trailed off, looking downwards at his hands.

“Well, thank you all the same.” Evie murmured, then, “Pansy is going to keep watching us when she can. Do we… do we have to go back to not talking to each other again?”

“I don’t know. We can talk and be friends, but we’ll have to keep it a secret.” Draco said. “It’s not the way I’d like things to be, but its the best offer I can make. I don’t want my Aunt, or Pansy for that matter, to have it out for you because of me.”

“I told you, I don’t care-”

He cut her off. “I don’t care how you feel about it. You’re not getting hurt again on my account, alright? Besides, we have detention together everyday until Christmas. That’s plenty of time for me to tease you without Parkinson bitching about it.” He grinned. “And anyways, you need to keep me around."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"So I can save your life the next time you do something stupid.” 

Evie groaned. “First the broom incident, and now the Grim. You really are going to keep bugging me about my recklessness, aren’t you?”

That coaxed a smile from him. “You're bloody right.”

“Ah. Miss Marsh. Mr. Malfoy. You’re awake.” A familiar voice said, and Evie turned to see Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey standing near the foot of her bed. She flushed; and noticed Draco looked red as well. 

The Headmaster made no comment on how Draco Malfoy was sitting by her bedside with a bag of chocolates in his hands. His eyes merely twinkled behind his half-moon glasses.

“I’m glad to see that you both are feeling better. Mr. Malfoy was nearly dead on his feet when he reached the castle with you unconscious in his arms. It gave us quite a fright." Madame Pomfrey said. 

Evie looked to Draco in surprise. “You were hurt too?” 

He shrugged. “It was nothing, just some bruises and scratches.”

“And the fact that you passed out once Hagrid took Miss Marsh from your arms,” Madame Pomfrey snorted. “You had a nasty scratch from that creature’s claws. It’s amazing that you were able to carry her that far without losing consciousness sooner. You lost a fair amount of blood.”

Once again, she turned towards the Slytherin boy in surprise. “Why didn’t you say anything about this? I could have walked.”

“No, you couldn’t have.” Draco looked at her, clearly annoyed. “And I said it was nothing. Forget about it.”

Evie nodded, not wanting to push him further. Still, inwardly, she couldn’t seem to wrap her mind around the fact that Draco had managed to carry her as far as he did. He hadn’t even mentioned to her that he was hurt. 

“Miss Marsh, it seems that all is well with you. You too, Mr. Malfoy. You’re free to leave whenever.” Madame Pomfrey informed them before striding away.

Dumbledore remained, the ghost of a smile on his face. “I find it quite enjoyable to see the way fate draws unlikely companions together. Hogwarts is the perfect place for it, I believe. One simply must remember to keep an open mind. Oh, in case I forget, you both have the morning off from classes. Rest well.” 

With those words, the snowy haired man strode away. 

“That old git is crazy.” Draco muttered, standing and stretching. 

“I find his idiosyncrasies endearing.” Evie said, sliding from bed to look for her clothes. She couldn’t walk back to the Gryffindor dorm in the hospital-issued white nightgown. Her school uniform must have been washed, for it sat on a low table by her cot, along with her shoes and winter garments.

He snorted. “You would.” Then, “I’d better get going. I have Quidditch practice in half an hour.”

“Yeah.” Evie nodded, though she felt her heart sink. She would have liked to be around him for a bit longer. Once she and Draco stepped outside the Hospital Wing, the reality of their situation was bound to change. Their fledgling friendship would become a clandestine one. It was a sobering thought. 

The tall boy walked from her bed, raising a hand in farewell as he did so. “See you around, Marsh. And try not to get into any more life-threatening situations, alright?”

“Oh sod off.” She called after him, though there had been no malice in neither his words nor hers. 

Draco laughed, then stepped out of the Hospital Wing and vanished from sight. 

 

* * *

 

The first thing Evie did when she left the Hospital Wing was go straight to lunch. For one thing, she was hungry, and for another, it was time to fill in her friends on what had gone down in the Forbidden Forest. 

“Evie!” Hermione’s voice reached her from across the dining hall. Her bushy haired friend was upon her in an instant, wrapping Evie in a tight hug. “We were so worried! Hagrid told us that you were in some kind of accident last night during detention. And that Malfoy was involved as well. Is everything okay? What happened?”

Evie pulled away from her, smiling. “Easy with the questions ‘Mione. I’m alright. Better than I have been in a while, actually. But can I eat first? Then I’ll explain everything.”

“I’m expecting a full report too, you know.” Ginny was standing behind Hermione, hands on her hips. Luna was by her side, a smile on her face. 

The Ravenclaw girl gestured for her to sit. “There’s a great carrot souffle today. I think you’ll like it, knowing how much you love carrots.”

Evie grinned. “Thanks Luna.”

Eating lunch took a while, as Evie was near starving after her adventure. Hermione sat nearby, impatient to hear the news. It was a bit unnerving. Ron, Harry, and Neville soon joined them as well, which made it even more difficult to get a word in edgewise--and she wasn’t going to talk about her outing with Draco in great detail with them. Evie did give them the basics of the situation though. 

“Malfoy saved you?” Ron said through a mouth of food. “I don’t believe it.”

“I know, but it’s true.” She replied. 

“Wow. That seems almost impossible, after what he did.” Harry commented, and Neville nodded in agreement. Evie opened her mouth to tell them the truth behind Draco’s actions, then shut it. The less people that knew about their situation, the better. She had a feeling that Draco would prefer it that way. 

There was a clamor towards the back of the dining hall, and the Slytherin quidditch team entered the hall for lunch, Draco among them.  _ Speak of the devil and he shall appear _ , Evie thought, turning her back to him. Keeping up this act of hatred was going to be more difficult than she had realized. 

“Alright.” Hermione declared as the girls walked to Defense Against the Dark Arts. “Spill what is going on.”

Ginny nodded. “You didn’t even talk about Malfoy like you hated him, which is weird, considering recent events.”

Evie glanced around. The hallway they were in was empty. Pulling her friends to the side of the hall, she filled them in on the reality of her and Draco’s relationship. It took a fair bit of time, given the constant interjections of Ginny, Hermione’s frequent questions, and the typical non sequiturs of Luna. By the time Evie had finished, a good ten minutes had passed. 

“Bloody hell.” Ginny said, once it was all out in the open. “So Malfoy isn’t a complete bastard after all. Huh.”

Evie nodded. “It seems that Pansy Parkinson is working to inform Bellatrix about Draco’s actions. So we can be friends, but it has to be in secret.”

“Shouldn’t we tell Dumbledore about this?” Hermione asked. “Surely he can get Pansy expelled.”

“There isn’t any proof that Pansy is in league with Bellatrix, ‘Mione.” Ginny said. “I don’t think going to Dumbledore is a viable option.”

“Ginny’s right. And I don’t think Draco would want to be put in that position. It would put him in danger outside of school. Bellatrix is still free, even if Voldemort isn’t.” Evie added. 

Hermione nodded. “You’re right, both of you. Now come on, I don’t want to be late for class.”

Evie and Ginny laughed, and the group set off towards Lupin’s classroom. Luna walked by Evie’s side, and slight smile on her face.

“Just friends?” She asked Evie innocently. 

Evie went bright red; luckily Hermione and Ginny hadn’t heard what Luna said. She whispered to the Ravenclaw girl: “Of course. Friends.”

 

**_Draco_ **

The next week went by in a blur. Midterms were approaching, and the sixth years were in a desperate scramble to prepare. The only times that Draco saw Evie Marsh was in Potions and Detention. Since the latter was the only place they could really talk, Draco wished he could do more than tease Evie the whole time. It was light hearted teasing, though, and she seemed to enjoy it. Still, he wanted to grow closer to her somehow. The idea made him uncomfortable. They were friends… whatever that meant. How much closer did he want to be to her?

Watching Evie out of the corner of his eye, Draco knew exactly how close he wanted to be to her. They were in Herbology, a class that drove Draco insane. They were planting some kind of plant today. Not that he knew anything about it; this was going to be an exam he would cram for. 

The greenhouse was warm compared to the draftiness of the castle, and all the students had removed their jackets and robes. Draco was lounging on his stool next to Blaise, fiddling with his wand. Blaise was doing all the work for this project, but Draco found himself unable to care that he wasn’t pitching in. Not that Zabini would complain or anything. 

Evie was paired off with Longbottom and Dean Thomas. The three of them had been working together since the start of the year, and always seemed to be having fun. Draco didn’t care if Evie was close to Neville, but he had begun to notice that Thomas had been looking at her more frequently lately. And he didn’t like it.  _ What the hell am I thinking?  _ Draco mused, scowling slightly at Thomas, who had just plucked a leaf from Evie’s messy bun.  _ It doesn’t matter if she and Thomas are snogging or not. We’re just friends. Why am I getting so bloody territorial all of a sudden? I was never this way when Pansy and I had our flings… it makes no sense.  _

He knew he was avoiding the truth. The truth of the matter was that he wanted Evie to be his--and his alone. It was selfish and all kinds of fucked up, but Draco couldn’t help it. When Potter or Thomas got close to her in classes it made his blood boil. He’d nearly snapped his quill in half when Potter had put his hand over Evie’s to show her the correct wand motion for a spell in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Even now Draco could feel the stirrings of jealous in his gut as Dean leaned close to Evie as she planted her seeds. 

Though, there was something else that Draco resented about Thomas, Potter, and even Longbottom. It was the easiness with which they talked to Evie. They didn’t have to wait until no one but Rubeus bloody Hagrid was around to talk to her. They could sit with her at meals, talk to her in the hall, and all that shit. Draco couldn’t, because if he did, his lunatic aunt would find a way to get Evie killed. 

_ I want to talk to her more. To see her more.  _ Draco thought as he folded a piece of parchment in his hands absentmindedly. Then an idea struck him, and he grinned, thinking back to third year and the drawing he had done of Potter falling from his broom. Maybe he couldn’t talk to Evie in person during class, but there was another way he could communicate with her. Grabbing a quill, he scratched a note onto the parchment scrap before folding it with deft fingers into the shape of an owl. With his wand pointed towards the paper bird, he murmured a quiet spell. Glancing around, he saw that none of the other Slytherins were watching him. They were all struggling to plant their seeds (they were some kind of magical jumping bean after all, which made them difficult to bury).

Releasing the paper owl, he grinned as it fluttered about the classroom before landing atop Evie’s notebook. She startled slightly, then reached for it with careful fingers. Draco felt his chest grow warm at the way she admired the folded bird. It held its shape for a moment before unfolding to reveal his note. Evie’s brows raised, and as she scanned what he had written, she blushed. Her eyes went straight to him, and Draco smirked. The blush deepened from rose pink to scarlet, and she looked away.

Still, a smile curled her lips upwards all the same, and Evie scratched down a reply with her quill before folding the parchment again. She didn’t, however, send it back to Draco. The charm he used was an obscure one. Evie probably didn’t know how to get it back to him. Covering his mouth with his palm, Draco grinned as Dean tried to flirt with Evie again. She barely acknowledged what the other boy said.  _ Because her thoughts are on me.  _ The thought filled him with satisfaction.

As he was leaving Herbology, Evie pushed past him. 

“Get out of my way, Malfoy.” She snapped, but Draco only smirked.

For when she had knocked her shoulder with his, their hands had touched. And the note had been passed back to him. Draco itched to read it right then and there, but he could feel Pansy’s eyes on him. 

“What a bitch.” He muttered, then turned to go to Charms. 

On the way there, he managed to lose Pansy and Blaise and duck behind a suit of armor. A kind of excitement he had never felt before welled up in Draco as he unfolded the parchment. He felt almost giddy, which was both impossible and utterly ridiculous. 

First was what he had written:  _ I see you and Thomas are getting awfully close. Nice going. _

Then was hers:  _ Sod off Malfoy. It’s not like that. You should focus on your jumping bean planting. We have midterms coming up. _

Draco grinned, and scrawled back a messy reply before fashioning the paper into a paper airplane, charming it to go straight to Evie. 

He could just imagine the look on her face when she read what he had written.

_ Bloody hell, you’re starting to sound like Granger. I bet she’s got you studying nonstop. Sounds like you need to relax. Meet me in the Kitchens tonight at 9pm.  _

After Quidditch practice, he saw Evie’s owl perched by the entrance to the boy’s locker room. Draco grinned. The creature was fat, there was no way about it. Still, it had the parchment in its beak, which made it the best owl alive, as far as Draco was concerned.

Evie’s response was brief. 

_ You’re lucky it’s a Friday and we don’t have detention, Malfoy.  _

He grinned. That was a yes.

 

**_Evie_ **

Wand in hand, Evie crept through the empty halls of Hogwarts. Adrenaline and excitement filled her veins, as it always did when she snuck out or skipped class. The hallways were full of shadows, and Evie’s vivid imagination quickly turned them into monsters and ghouls. Darkness was an easy thing for her mind to manipulate, and it helped add to her excitement. The dark didn’t frighten her terribly, but it did make it so that when Draco Malfoy jumped out from behind a statue, Evie let out a scream. A loud one.

“Bloody hell, Marsh.” Draco cackled after she realized it was him. “That was even better than I anticipated.”

Evie scowled at him. “You git! You should know that I startle easily.”

He grinned. “Cleary. You really are--”

“Shit.” Evie cursed, grabbing Draco by the arm and pulling him back behind the statue. “Someone’s coming.”

“They must have heard you scream bloody murder.” He snorted, then fell silent as the sound of footsteps grew louder.

There wasn’t much space behind the statue, so that Draco almost stood on Evie’s toes. Her eyes were level with his shoulders, and standing on tiptoe, she peered over them. Draco startled when her hands came in contact with his shoulders. Evie blushed.

“I’m trying to see.” She hissed. “Now be quiet.”

He smirked. “You’re the one talking.” 

They both fell silent, however, when Professor Snape rounded the corner, wand in hand. As he neared the statue they hid behind, Draco took a few steps back so that Evie found herself suddenly pressed against the wall. The wall, and Draco’s back. They were locked together, scarcely breathing as Snape prowled by. Evie was hyper-aware of every spot where Draco’s body was in contact with hers. It felt as though those spots had been hit with a bolt of lightning. They were electric.

Her head still rested on his shoulder, her hands holding onto him for balance. She could hear the soft pant of his breathing, feel the subtle movements of his body. It felt intimate to Evie, who had never even kissed a boy. She thanked Merlin for the dark, so that Draco couldn’t see her blushing.

When Snape rounded a corner and disappeared, the pair let out a sigh of relief. Still, Draco didn’t move. 

“Do you think he’s gone?” Evie whispered.

She felt him shrug. “Give it a minute. He might recheck this hallway, and if he does that, we’re fucked.”

_ If only I’d brought the Marauders Map.  _ Evie mused, then dismissed the thought. That map would have brought up too many questions from Draco, and Harry would have been suspicious as to why she wanted to borrow it. Hermione and Ginny were onto her, of that Evie was positive. The two had been sitting with Harry and Ron when Evie had left through the portrait hole, claiming she wanted to send an owl to her father about something urgent. The two girls had looked at each other, grinned, and then looked at her, clearly amused. Evie had hurried out of the commons before they could say anything.

And now here she was, creeping through the dark hallways of Hogwarts after curfew with none other than Draco Malfoy. The Slytherin boy walked ahead, lighting the way with his wand. The pale light from the Lumos spell lit Draco’s face from below, casting his cheekbones and eyes into sharp relief.  _ He looks like he’s carved from stone _ , Evie thought when she caught a glimpse of his face.

That thought vanished when Draco turned around with a jack-o-lantern grin on his face and said, “Race you the rest of the way.”

He took off down the hallway before Evie could protest, the ball of light at the tip of his wand bouncing beside him like a leashed star. Sprinting to keep up with him, Evie cursed the long hem of her pajama pants. They were going to trip her sooner or later. She had assumed Draco would wear pajamas too, and now she realized that he was wearing his school uniform. Evie winced. She looked childish next to him in her matching set of pink pajamas, grey bathrobe, and bare feet. For the love of Merlin, her pajamas had little golden snitches sewn onto them. She groaned inwardly, but kept running.

“You know-” Evie panted as they came to a halt by the moving staircases, waiting for the one that would take them to the main floor of the castle to come by. “If I’d know we were going to be sprinting through Hogwarts, I wouldn’t have worn my pajamas.”

Draco glanced at her, seeming to notice her clothing for the first time. Though instead of teasing her, he said, “I like them. They suit you.”

Her eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Draco looked away from her. “Though I don’t know why you have snitches on your pajamas. You’re rubbish at Quidditch.”

Evie scowled. “That doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy it! And besides, I only fell off my broom once!”

“If you say so.”

“I do!”

Draco took one look at her frustrated expression and laughed. The sound echoed off the walls of the cavernous room. Evie took a closer look around. There was something more mysterious about Hogwarts at night. The darkness of the large space lit only by flickering lanterns, the lazily floating stairs, and the paintings on the walls with their sleeping occupants caused the castle to feel haunted. Then again, from what Evie had heard from other students, Hogwarts  _ was  _ haunted. 

There was poke on her forehead. Draco. Evie glanced over to find him watching her, a faint smile on his face.

“What are you daydreaming about?”

She smiled. “I think it would be just dreaming, since it’s not day anymore.”

“Bloody hell, you’re as bad as Granger.” He rolled his eyes.

The stairs bound for the main floor finally floated to them. Draco and Evie hopped on. Evie was one step above Draco, which made her slightly taller. She grinned at this.

“Malfoy.”

“What?” He turned back to look at her.

“I’m taller than you.” Evie singsonged, and he cocked a brow.

“Oh really?”

“Yep.”

“Well, unfortunately for you, that is something easily fixed.” Draco stepped up next to her. Now he was taller than her once more. He smirked. “Shorty.”

“I’ll have you know that I’m the average height for my age range!” 

“Maybe in America.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Evie scowled, though she wasn’t actually angry. It was the way they communicated, this light teasing. It was easier to joke around than discuss the gravity of what they were doing by sneaking out together. If Draco’s aunt found out that they were having late night rendezvous… Evie shuddered. 

“Marsh?” There was a hint of worry in Draco’s voice. “Don’t freeze up now; this is our stop.”

“You wish.” Evie said, shooting him a grin. “And now, I’m going to beat you!”

“Dammit! That’s not fair!” Draco cried as she ran off down the hall towards the kitchens. “My father will hear about this!”

 

**_Draco_ **

“No no no. For the last time Draco, you crack an egg like this.” Evie scolded gently, demonstrating by tapping an egg on the edge of her mixing bowl and then breaking it open in one deft movement with her thumbs. She laughed. “Here, just sit back at watch me. Honestly, I can’t believe you’ve never done this before.”

“What, make cookies?” Draco shrugged, casting aside his failed attempt. “At Malfoy Manor we have house elves for that.”

“For you maybe, but learning to cook with my mother is one of my favorite memories.” 

Evie began mixing the cookie dough with a wooden spoon. Draco watched as she rolled up the sleeves of her ridiculous pajamas before turning the dough onto the kitchen table they were using. The house elves were all asleep by now, but the one left to tend the kitchen’s roaring fire had been more than happy to help Evie find the ingredients she needed to make chocolate chip cookies. She had tried to let Draco help, but had quickly given up after he demolished eight eggs. Not that he minded. He liked watching her work. 

For reasons he could not understand, Evie Marsh had a very calming presence. Draco was never able to say quite why, but something about her soothed him. He honestly was unsure of her reason for being his friend. They were complete opposites. She was all softness and pink pajamas, whereas he was all broken egg shells and snark.

“Baking is a lot of Chemistry, so it’s like Potions, really.” Evie was rambling as she formed the dough into little balls on a sheet. “You just add the right ingredients and follow the instructions exactly.”

“But you don’t have instructions.”

“That’s because I make cookies a lot. Practice!” She smiled. “Here, I’m sure you can form some cookies. Just roll them into balls.”

“Alright.” Draco said, and began to rastle the piece of dough she handed him into a sphere.

They worked in silence, but it was a comfortable one. Draco found that rolling the dough into shapes was an easy task, and his mind wandered as he work. The kitchen was warm and awash with the golden light of the fireplace. 

“I didn’t mean it, you know.” Evie said softly. “When I said that I’d die before I trusted you again.”

Draco went still. How had she known that of all the things she had said to him in her anger, that had affected him the most. He still heard those words in his head when he had to avoid her in the hallways, or when Pansy said something nasty about her and Draco could only play along. 

“You… you trust me now?” He hated how weak his voice sounded. 

“I’ve thought about it a lot this past week…” Evie said, then looked up at him, expression soft. “And yes. I do. Without a doubt.”

Silence fell again, more charged than any he had ever known. Draco wasn’t sure why, but the tender look in her eyes when she spoke those words to him made his heart race a little bit. Maybe it was the heat of the kitchen? It was rather warm in here. But no, try as he might, there was no denying that the rapid beat of his heart was a result of her words. What was going on with him? He had never felt anything like this. It wasn’t lust. Draco knew lust like the back of his hand. His trysts with Pansy the past few years were proof enough of that. No… this was something else. And he had a feeling he knew what it was. 

Draco slammed that emotion down. No. He couldn’t possibly like Evie that way. It was pointless and stupid. His dream from all those weeks ago came back to him.  _ My hands are so dirty. Even if, by some crazy chance, she felt the same way, I’d only drag her down into the dark. I’d only get her hurt. Friends. I just haven’t had a friend like this before. That’s what it is. Not anything else.  _ But he knew that those words were a lie. 

 

**_Evie_ **

The next day, Evie regretted staying up so late with Draco. It had been nice, just being able to talk and sit. There were often times where there was no conversation, but Evie enjoyed the quiet. She had a feeling that Draco did as well. They had finished baking the cookies around ten, except since Draco didn’t like sweet things, Evie ended up taking most of the cookies back the Gryffindor common room. Most of the students were still up when she got back, since midterms were coming up, and there were no complaints. The treats had been gone within minutes. 

_ I wonder what desert type things Draco does like. Maybe something with coffee in it? That’s not very sweet.  _ Evie thought as she sketched Luna in the greenhouse after classes. The Ravenclaw girl was stretched across a few benches she had pushed together, avidly reading the latest issue of  _ The Quibbler.  _ Neville was there as well, working on a study he was doing on magical plants that grew in the lake by the castle. 

“H-hey Luna?” Neville asked, his voice oddly warbled. 

She sat up, and turned to look at him. “Yes?”

“Well...um...IwaswonderingifmaybeyouwantedtogototheYuleBallwithme.” He rushed out, looking down at his plant before peeking up at her from the fringe of his shaggy hair.

“Would you mind if I wore my hair in a beehive style to the dance?”

Neville looked confused. “Of course not.”

An angelic smile spread across Luna’s face. “Then I’d love to go with you. I’ve never been asked to a dance by anyone before.” 

Shoulders slumping slightly in relief, Neville smiled too. 

“Hogwarts has a Christmas dance?” Evie asked. Come to think of it, she had heard Lavender Brown mention something about a Yule Ball earlier this week. She simply hadn’t given it much thought.

Neville nodded. “Yes. It’s a week from this Friday. People have started asking already, but it probably will become bigger news now that you’re aware of it. It’s normally held during the TriWizard Tournament, but Dumbledore brought it back this year. He wanted to make this year special, since You Know Who has finally been caught, or at least, that’s what I heard.”

“I see.” Evie doubted that she would get asked by anyone, though her mind went immediately to a certain blonde haired Slytherin. 

“It’s really fun, Evie.” Neville exclaimed, going a little starry eyed. “There’s punch and the Grand Hall is decorated like a winter wonderland, and there’s waltzing.”

“Waltzing?”

“Of course! It’s the main dance that we do.” 

Evie felt her heart sink. “Then I don’t think I can go. I don’t know anything about ballroom dancing.” 

“Don’t worry about that, most people just fumble their way through the dances.” Neville shrugged. “We had lessons back in fourth year with Mcgonagall. Those were fun.”

“Ginny told me you’re a very good dancer, Neville.” Luna said, licking her index finger and thumb before turning the page of  _ The Quibbler.  _

He blushed. “I’m alright.” Then, he turned to Evie. “If you want, I could teach you a few steps. That way you wouldn’t have to worry about it. Then you can go to the dance.”

“Really?”

“Of course. We can meet here on the days that you don’t have detention.” Neville offered.

“I can help too.” Luna added. “I know several dances that belong to the Veela. I’m sure if you learned those, you’d be the talk of the town.”

Evie smiled. “Thank you both. It sounds like a plan!”

 

* * *

 

Neville was right. Now that she was aware of it, the Yule Ball was all everyone around her seemed to talk about. Even Hermione, who was in peak stress mode for midterms, spoke animatedly at lunch that Friday of how Ron had asked her during Charms earlier that day. 

“It was sweet really.” She said with a sigh. “Especially after the disaster fourth year was, I’m glad that he finally plucked up the courage.”

“Isn’t that the truth.” Ginny snorted, taking a bite of her pudding. “It took him long enough.”

“And it took Harry long enough to ask you too.” Hermione shot back. Ginny had been asked by the green eyed boy during Quidditch practice yesterday. Ginny’s face went as red as her hair, and she turned her focus back on her pudding.

“I wonder who will ask you, Evie.” Hermione said.

“I don’t think I’ll get an invitation.” Evie shrugged. “I am the new girl, after all.”

“That’s not what I heard.” Ginny whispered, her eyebrows wiggling. “Apparently Dean Thomas wants to ask you.”

“Really?” 

That surprised her, though it also made her heart sink a bit. She had thought for a split second that maybe Draco was the one who wanted to take her to the ball. If she was being honest with herself, she had imagined him doing so ever since Neville had told her about the dance. She sighed.   _ I was stupid to even fantasize about that happening.  _ Evie chided herself inwardly.  _ Even if he could ask me to the Yule Ball, the likelihood of Draco actually wanting to take me is slim. I was just being an idiot, plowing ahead without thinking reasonably.  _

“Speak of the devil,” Hermione hissed. “Here he comes now. Act casual.”

Evie stiffened, Ginny took a massive bite of pudding, and Hermione studied her fingernails with a detached expression. Dean approached cautiously, looking a little nervous. Evie felt bad for him. It must be hard to go up to a group of girls and have to ask such a personal question in front of them.  _ I would have prefered to be asked someone more private.  _ Evie thought. Judging from the group of Gryffindor boys at the end of their table who were watching Dean with wide grins, they had a sizeable audience.

“Evie?” Dean stopped by where she sat. 

Evie stood quickly, teetering slightly when her shin hit the wooden edge of their bench. Dean reached out to steady for her, and Evie hid a wince as his hands gripped her upper arms and then released them quickly. He sent her a shaky smile. There was a hoot from one of the boys nearby. Evie felt her face flame scarlet. 

“H-hi Dean.” Why the hell was she stuttering? 

“Um…” He took a moment to gather himself and then smiled. “Would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me?”

If it had been any other year, Evie would have thought Dean’s nervousness and his shy smile were cute. And he was cute, but he wasn’t… he wasn’t Draco. So instead of feeling excited, she felt her stomach lurch. It took all her self control not to glance at the Slytherin table where Draco usually sat. Was he seeing this? She hoped not. 

“Evie?” Dean’s voice broke her from her thoughts.

He looked uncertain and Evie realized he thought she was going to refuse him.  _ He’s cute and he’s nice. What is wrong with you? Say yes! Draco would never ask you to the Yule Ball anyways. It was pointless to get your hopes up. _

Plastering a smile on her face and nodding, Evie replied, “Yes, of course. I’d love to go with you.”

A relieved smile spread across Dean’s face. There were a few cheers from the group of boys, Ron and Harry among them. Evie blushed again. 

“Sorry about them.” Dean muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “Thanks Evie. I’ll pick you up in the Gryffindor common room around 8:45 next Friday? Bloody hell, it feels weird to say pick you up, since we live in the same dorm.”

Evie laughed at this, because he had a point. The knot in her stomach loosened somewhat. Going to the dance with Dean Thomas was hardly a death sentence. He did make her laugh, and he was cute. Plenty of girls in her year would have been more than happy to be his date. This was going to be fun.

And then she glanced over at the Slytherin table. Her eyes met Draco’s the moment she did so. His expression was neutral, but his eyes… there was nothing neutral about them. They were dark and filled with an emotion she didn’t think he was capable of. Jealousy. No. It couldn’t be jealousy. There was no way. She was jumping to conclusions. Evie looked away quickly. 

“Sounds good. Thanks Dean.” She only hoped that no one else noticed how false the words sounded.

 


	11. All Hells Breaks Loose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first off, wow! everyone has been so supportive of this fic! it means so much to me! alas, the updates are going to probably be only twice a week or so now due to the fact that i have returned from vacation and am getting ready to go to college! scary scary--it's my first year attending college, but i'm very excited. updates will be coming, just not every other day. they will still be regular though :) i'm glad everyone is enjoying the story! the comments are such an encouragement for me to keep writing, so thank you for leaving so many kind little notes. 
> 
> sending lots of love to you all! enjoy! 
> 
> <3

**_Evie_ **

“I can’t wear red. It makes my skin look pasty.” Evie said in response to the dress that Hermione was holding up. “I think you’d look better in that dress to be honest. The color suits you.” 

“I agree with Evie.” Ginny piped up.

Luna nodded. “I think so too.”

The four of them were sitting in the only dress shop in Hogsmeade, which was currently swarmed by girls who needed dresses for the Yule Ball. Luna was apparently sewing her own dress, and Ginny was having her mother send her favorite dress from the Burrow to Hogwarts, so it was only Hermione and Evie who needed dresses. The other girls were there for moral support. 

“Alright.” Hermione said. “Let me go try it on.”

She hurried off to the dressing rooms while the rest of the girls stayed parked on a couch nearby. They had been in the shop for over an hour. Evie had tried on so many dresses that she'd count, yet not one seemed to fit her tastes. It was frustrating.  _ Or maybe you don’t want them to fit. Admit it, your heart isn’t in this.  _ A voice inside her whispered. Evie had found out yesterday afternoon that Draco had asked Pansy Parkinson to the Yule Ball. Though she knew it was likely because he wanted to keep up his act for Bellatrix, it still made her chest ache.  _ Ugh. I’m hopeless. _ Evie thought, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the couch. 

“So, what are you going to wear?” Ginny said, glancing sidelong at Evie. “You seem worn out by all this. What’s going on?”

“I don't know. My heart just isn't in it. I mean, I’m happy to be going to the Yule Ball, but I wanted to go with someone else.” Evie replied. Ginny’s face softened in understanding. “I know it sounds selfish. I should be glad that I’m going as Dean’s date. He's nice and cute and funny. Plenty of girls wanted to go with him. But I just-”

“Evie.” Ginny cut her off. “Your heart doesn’t listen to reason. And besides, that guy you wanted to go with? He’ll still be at there. You wanted to go with him? Then make sure you get to dance with him.”

“And Draco will see you in your dress, even if you aren’t going with him.” Luna chimed in. “You want to look your best, don’t you? I mean, it’s not like you’re dressing for his approval, but I always like to feel most confident when I know I’ll be seeing someone I like. And what I wear helps with that.”

Ginny sighed. “Luna, I think we were trying not to mention his name. But, Evie, she’s right. Pick something in this shop that makes you feel confident. It doesn’t matter what the color or style is. It doesn’t matter if it's something you wouldn't normally wear. If it feels right, then buy the bloody thing.”

Evie smiled. “Thanks Gin.”

“So… how do I look?” Came Hermione’s tentative voice. 

She stood before them in the red dress, with it’s sweetheart neckline and mid-calf length. Evie’s eyes widened. The red hue enhanced the tawny color of her skin, and the fabric clung to her curves in all the right places.

“Mione you look beautiful!” Ginny exclaimed, and Evie nodded. 

“A vision in red, to quote the Muggle saying.” Luna chirped.

“Thanks. I love it too.” Hermione laughed. She gave a little twirl, the dress flaring about her legs as she did so. 

Evie clapped. “So pretty.”

Hermione rounded on her. “Now we have to find a dress for you!”

Evie’s good mood diminished. “I don’t know, ‘Mione. I’ve tried on so many… maybe we should come back later.”

“No! If you put it off any longer, you’ll end up going in your school uniform!” Hermione said. “Come on… there’s got to be something you like.”

“Actually, when we first came in, I picked out a dress that I thought Evie would like.” Luna said. “It’s over there on the hanger. The pale blue one.”

“Luna, you're a genius!” Ginny had already hopped off the couch and was bringing the dress over. “It’s perfect for Evie.”

Evie turned to look at the dress, and her eyes widened. Luna had known exactly what she would like. The dress was a frosty, light blue. It had an off the shoulder neckline, and was cinched at the waist before the fabric cascaded down to the floor. The thing Evie liked most about it was the clear beading stitched in branch-like designs about the neckline and hem. 

“Oh Luna…” She breathed. “It’s perfect! How did you know?”

Her friend shrugged. “I just knew. It was a gut feeling. Hard to explain. I like it because I think it’ll make you look like a snowflake.”

“Try it on!” Hermione cheered, practically shoving Evie into the dressing room. 

Shedding her jeans and sweater, Evie slipped into the floor length gown. The fabric was cool against her skin, clinging to the curve of her chest and the small of her back. After adjusting the straps, Evie turned and looked in the mirror. 

She nearly gasped outright. The dress was beautiful. Evie burst out of the changing room, a huge smile on her face.

“I love it!” She cried, spinning around before her friends could even take a good look.

“You do look like a fairy.” Luna cooed when Evie finally came to a stop, and Ginny nodded in agreement. 

Hermione was beaming. “It’s perfect for you. Luna, your choice was spot on. Now come on, let’s go buy these and head over to the Three Broomsticks. The boys are going to meet us there.” 

Evie took one last look in the mirror before tugging the dress off. She wondered what Draco would think of it. Would he like it? She wasn’t sure. Draco liked her as a friend, that she knew, but any more than that was unlikely. After all, she was so different from him. Aside from the fact that they were both good at Potions and enjoyed breaking the rules every so often, they didn’t have that much in common. Their personalities were polar opposites.  _ But opposites attract, don’t they? That’s how the saying goes.  _ Evie thought.  _ But no, he would never have those feelings for me. It just isn’t possible.  _

Except it was getting harder and harder for Evie to ignore her feelings for Draco. She had been trying to push her crush on him aside, but after he had saved her life that night in the forest the feelings had only intensified.  _ What if he finds out?  _ The thought made her stomach lurch. Since it was highly unlikely that Draco returned her affections, the revelation would tear whatever friendship that had apart.  _ I can’t let him find out. He can’t know the way that I feel. Besides, being around him is enough. I don’t care if we don’t go behind friends. It’s fine. _

But she knew that was a lie.

 

* * *

 

The paper bird nearly landed right in her butterbeer. Evie jumped in surprise, grabbing the note she knew was from Draco before anyone else could notice. Her heart fluttered at the sight of the delicately folded paper crane cupped in her palms. Looking up, she saw that Draco was nowhere to be seen in the crowded tavern, though some other Slytherins from their year were. After scanning the room once more, Evie figured that Draco had sent her the note and then left the Three Broomsticks. Her gaze turned back to her own table, where Hermione caught her eye. She winked at Evie, causing her cheeks to turn pink as she unfolded her note beneath the table.

Their group of friends was sitting at a corner booth in the Three Broomsticks, chattering and eating before heading back to the castle. Hermione was eager to continue studying for finals, but Ron had managed to coerce her into coming. That impressed Evie. Then again, the two had been harboring crushes on one another for years now, and since Ron had asked Hermione to the Yule Ball, something in their relationship had shifted. They weren’t official, but they certainly weren’t friends anymore either. More than once Evie had caught Hermione and Ron holding hands under the table during meals or in the halls on the way to classes. It wasn’t much, just tentative brushes of fingers and thumbs, but enough for Evie to notice. They weren’t hiding how they felt from others, they were merely enjoying one another’s company in the simplest of ways.

_ They don’t have to hide their relationship.  _ Evie thought with a pang of jealousy.  _ The person who they care for feels the same, and no wicked Aunts or nasty Slytherin girls would kill them for being together.  _ She groaned inwardly at her selfishness.  _ What is going on with me? My crush for Draco wasn’t this bad earlier in the year. Now it’s a constant torment. Everything I see reminds me of him, and how I wish things could be between us. It’s ridiculous.  _

Pushing aside her envy, she skimmed Draco’s note. His words brought a smile to her face.  _ Meet me outside Hogsmeade when you can. I’ll walk back to Hogwarts with you. You need someone to watch out for you. I don’t want some animal to drag you off. Idiot.  _

Evie laughed, hiding the noise behind her hand. It was if Draco was speaking directly to her. She was surprised that it was Draco asking if she wanted to do something with him. Come to think of it, their late night rendezvous on Friday had been his idea too. Granted, they hadn’t gotten to talk much this week in detention. Maybe that had been the reason. Hagrid had them both busy charming garlands into various shapes for the Yule Ball and mixing up potions to help keep the greenery around the castle fresh. They spoke to each other as they worked, but it was nothing but teasing and jokes. It was nice to see Draco outside of classes and detention. The fact that he had done all the asking though, was a surprise. 

_ Don’t get ahead of yourself.  _ Evie chided the more romantic part of her brain. She shoved Draco’s note into her coat pocket and grabbed the brown paper parcel that held her dress before standing. Exiting the booth, Evie made her excuses (“I have to go study”) and said her goodbyes before dashing out into the cold street. It had begun to snow lightly, causing Evie to shiver. She had forgotten to wear a hat again, and with the snow coming down steadily, it would be no time before her hair was damp with the heavy flakes. Settling on wrapping her scarf around her chin and mouth, Evie hurried to the edge of Hogsmeade. 

She had just reached the woods when Draco stepped out from behind a tree, startling her slightly. He wore a dark pea coat, his slytherin scarf, and a woolen hat with flaps that went over his ears. The cold turned the tip of his nose, cheeks, and ears a slight red shade. Evie felt her stomach flutter. He looked… cute. Usually, she saw Draco as handsome, in a cold and almost beautiful way. It was as if he was a statue from some museum come to life. Right now, though, the funny looking trapper hat made him seem younger and more innocent. She decided she loved that hat on him. 

“I ought to have thrown a snowball at you. You didn’t see me at all.” He said by way of greeting, and Evie laughed. 

“Honestly Malfoy, bodyguards are supposed to be quiet and on alert.” She fired back as they began to walk down the snowy path.

“Oh, so I’m your bodyguard now, am I?” Draco teased, then, “What’s in the package?”

“My dress for the Yule Ball.” She replied. “Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and I went shopping for them this morning. I think it was the only reason that ‘Mione left her flashcards and notes to be honest.”

“You’re going with Dean, aren’t you?” He glanced at her sidelong, expression neutral. 

“Yes.” She said. Then, “You’re going with Pansy, right?”

A nod. “It seemed a good idea to ask her to help to secure her trust in my loyalties. It’ll be hell going to the Yule Ball with her, though.” His next words were stiff, and completely out of character. “I’m sure you’ll have an agreeable time with Thomas. He’s an idiot, but he won’t put you in danger.”

Evie laughed awkwardly. “Yeah.”

Silence fell, an uncomfortable one. So many unspoken words hung between them in the cold air. Evie desperately tried to think of something she could say to lighten the mood, but she came up short.  _ How could I say anything else about the Yule Ball without him seeing right through me?  _ She thought, gripping her package tighter.

“I see you’re not wearing Longbottom’s purple monstrosity.” Draco commented at last, breaking the tense silence with his usual snark. 

Evie smiled with relief. “I happen to like that hat. Neville actually gave it to me, since he has another. I’m regretting not wearing it though. I was in a hurry this morning and forgot to grab it.”

It was true. The snow was still steadily falling, the icy flakes making her ears burn and her hair soggy. 

“Stand still.”

She looked to Draco with brows raised. “What?” 

He huffed. “I said stand still, idiot.” 

Curious to see what he would do, Evie went still. Reaching up, Draco pulled off his finely made trapper hat. He took a step forward in the snow and it was then that Evie realized he was going to give it to her. A jolt of surprise went through her body, and her heart fluttered wildly in her chest.

Evie opened her mouth to protest, but Draco cut her off.

“You bloody Gryffindors can't follow rules can you?” He said this with a hint of a smirk on his face. “Stay put.” 

“Slytherins don't  follow rules well either.” She muttered as Draco placed the hat atop her head. 

He tugged it on with careful fingers, pulling the flaps down over her ears and adjusting the brim on her forehead. When he had finished, Draco didn't pull away. Instead, his fingers lingered on the sides of her face for a moment longer than necessary. The wool of his mittens was soft and warm on her chilled skin. Evie felt her heart throb in her chest at the sensation. Time seemed to stretch out between them. She found herself drawing closer to him, as if she were being pulled by an invisible string, until they were practically toe to toe. 

_ I could kiss him, if I wanted to. _

The thought caught her by surprise. She felt her face go red and her eyes widen at the idea of Draco’s lips on hers… her hands in his hair… She looked away from him, scared he would figure out what she was thinking.  _ Honestly! What is going on with me? I've never had thoughts like that when I've been with him in the past. _

Draco, misreading her sudden reaction, quickly pulled his hands away. 

“It's getting late. Let's get back to Hogwarts.” He said gruffly, and began walking towards the castle.

“Okay…” She breathed, standing frozen in the snow for a moment before racing after him, her face still red. 

They spent that walk back to the castle in silence, stealing glances at the other.  _ What the hell just happened?  _ Was all Evie could think when she and Draco parted ways and she handed him back his trapper hat with a “thank you”. 

Little did she know that the Slytherin boy was thinking the same thing.

What neither of them knew, was that in the next few days, all hell was about to break loose. 

 

* * *

 

It began the following Monday after lunch, when Evie was sitting in the library studying for her upcoming Charms exam. She had taken her History of Magic midterm that morning. It had seemed to go fairly well, but the essay section had turned her brain to mush. She groaned, pushing aside her notes and looking around the library. It was time for a brain break. Hermione sat beside her, fully engrossed in her Arithmancy flash cards. Why her friend took that class was a mystery to Evie, who hated math.

The library was packed with students. Most were studying, but some were catching up sleep they had lost when cramming for exams the night before. Ron was one of those students, Evie noted with a smile. He was slumped against Hermione, mouth slightly agape as he snored softly. 

Evie had also noted when Draco and a group of Slytherins had entered the library a while ago, heading over to a table across the room. She peeked a glance over at where Draco had been sitting, only to find that he was no longer there. She wondered where he could be. That question, however, was soon answered.

“So, Marsh. I heard that you're going with Dean Thomas to the Yule Ball.” Came an all too familiar voice. 

Evie glanced upwards to see Theodore Nott, Blaise, and Draco standing by her chair. Draco was looking away from her, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. It must have been Nott’s or Blaise’s idea to approach her. Probably Nott’s, since he had had it out for her since day one. Evie wasn't sure why. She had never even talked to him. She had a bad feeling that Pansy Parkinson used Nott to push her around. Even now, she could see the tall girl watching her from the other side of the room. Her eyes were cold. Evie shuddered. 

“Aren't you going to say something?” Nott jeered. 

Hermione had looked up from her notes and was glaring at the group. “Why don't you bugger off?” She snapped.

“He's not talking to you, Granger.” Zabini was speaking now, a slight smirk on his face. Hermione glared at him. Ron remained asleep on her shoulder, oblivious to the conflict unfolding around him. 

Evie looked to Nott. “Yes, I am going to the Yule Ball with Dean Thomas. And?”

“You really are easy, aren’t you?” Nott sneered, and Evie bristled. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Draco’s hands tighten into fists. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” 

The Slytherin boy spread his hands in mock confusion. “How about you tell me? I mean one minute you’re getting all close with Potter in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but the next thing we know you and Longbottom are getting it on in the Greenhouse after classes. And now Dean? A mudblood? Makes me wonder how much of a slut you really are.”

“I-I-” Evie stammered. All those things were lies, but they stung her nonetheless. Evie had never even kissed anyone before, let alone slept with someone. Sex and things of that nature were personal to her. Her face went scarlet.

Hermione, who knew this, opened her mouth to say something back, but she was interrupted. 

“Nott, this is boring Let’s go.” 

_ Draco _ . Evie looked to him in surprise. He still wasn’t looking their way. The Slytherin’s expression was schooled into one of boredom, but the set of his jaw and the slight flush high on his cheeks told a different story.

“Oh come on. Just a little while longer.” Nott complained, then grinned. “It’s about to get interesting.”

Draco took a step forwards, but the younger boy didn’t seem to notice. Nott merely moved closer to Evie.

“Did they give it to you good?” He hissed, face inches from hers. “Did you like it?”

“Stop.” Her voice was barely a whisper. Tears welled in her eyes, causing her nose to burn. She blinked them back rapidly. “Please.”

“Or did you do things for them? I bet you got right on your knees for Potter, yeah? Just like the whore that you are. You know, I heard even Malfoy wanted a piece of what you were dishing out. Trying to get in with the powerful ones, aren’t you? You’re not as stupid as I originally thought, I’ll give you that. Fuck your way to the top. Nice policy.” 

Evie felt sick. Just the thought of doing those kinds of things to her close friends made her feel dirty. They were her friends. Having someone talk about her sexual life like this… it was as if Nott was spreading her dirty laundry out for everyone to see. 

And Draco… was what Nott was saying true? Maybe he had said something about their relationship to keep his friends off his back.  _ Or did he really mean it when he wrote me off as nothing more than someone he wanted to get into bed? Does he still see me that way?  _ Evie looked at Draco, her stomach twisting. 

All the worries she had died in an instant. Draco was livid. His eyes were dark and his fists clenched were clenched so tightly that they were white at the knuckles. She had never seen him so angry before. It sent a shiver through her. 

“Enough Nott.” Draco spat. “Drop it.”

“Fine, Malfoy… just one more thing.” Theo said airily, then turned to Evie, eyes gleaming. “I just wanted to know if you would be willing to do some favors for me,  _ Evie _ .” 

_ “I said: enough!”  _

Before Evie knew what was happening, Draco had grabbed Nott by his collar and hauled him away from her. He threw Nott to the floor with a thud. The other Slytherin didn't stay down for long, but the moment he came up Draco punched him square in the jaw. Nott staggered backwards, groaning and cursing. The library broke into chaos, as other students crowded around to see the fight. 

“Bloody hell! What the fuck, Malfoy?” He growled, clutching his cheek. “You’re gonna pay for that.”

“I told you to drop it.” Draco snarled, fists raised. “You should have listened.”

The other boy scoffed. “You just want her all to yourself!” 

Draco growled, and dove towards him. The two boys went down on the library floor, rolling between tables and chairs in a whirlwind of limbs and fists. Evie could only stay frozen in her seat, watching in horror. What the hell was Draco doing? Pansy would tell Bellatrix of how he had stood up for her. Who knew what his Aunt would do.  _ I have to stop this.  _ She moved forward.

Hermione reached out and grabbed her arm, causing Ron to fall from her shoulder with a yelp. The redhead had somehow managed to stay asleep through all the commotion. 

As if reading Evie’s thoughts, Hermione said, “If you go to help him and put an end to this fight, it’ll prove to Pansy that you and Draco don’t hate each other anymore. It’s what she wants.”

Evie slumped back in her chair. “You’re right.”

“What’s going on?” Ron said, looking over to where Madam Pince was wrestling the boys away from each other, her thin face twisted in annoyance.

“Nothing.” Hermione stated, gathering her books. “We were just about to head to our next exam.”

Ron blinked, bewildered. “Uh… alright. But what the bloody hell is happening over there with Malfoy and Nott?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care to know.” The bushy haired girl said briskly, standing. “I do know that I’m not going to let them make me late for my Arithmancy exam.”

Evie, despite the tense situation, let out a small laugh at how pragmatic Hermione was. Following her friend’s example, she too gathered her books and stood. Ron followed suit as well, and soon the three of them were walking out of the library.

Glancing over her shoulder, Evie snuck one last look at where the fight had been. Madam Pince was still shrieking at Draco and Theodore about how their scuffle could have ruined the library’s precious books. The crowd of students around them had dispersed, now that the action was over. Draco had a cut on the high curve of his cheek bone, and the beginning of a bruise blossomed there as well.  _ He’s hurt,  _ Evie thought, her heart constricting.  _ He’s hurt because of the fact that he was defending me.  _

Her eyes drifted to the left, and Evie froze. Pansy Parkinson was watching her. Their gazes clashed, and the Slytherin girl’s eyes narrowed. It was if Pansy’s stare was peeling back her skin, layer by layer, to see what lay beneath it. Evie felt bare, sure that the dark haired girl knew how she felt for Draco. She turned away quickly. But the sensation of those cold eyes on her back didn’t leave until Evie walked out of the library.  _ She’s onto us. I’m sure of it.  _ She thought with a shiver.  _ This can’t be good. _

 

**_Draco_ **

Something was wrong with Evie. Draco was sure of it, as they walked through the snowy woods behind Hagrid, searching for Wilzerwald once more. After the incident with the Grim, Hagrid insisted that he come with them. 

Evie hadn’t spoken a word to Draco since they had both arrived at detention, and he had said nothing to her. He hadn’t expected a thank you from her for getting into a fight, even if it was because of his desire to defend her, but Draco had thought that Evie would at least acknowledge what had happened. 

Just thinking about the fight and about what had Nott had said about Evie made Draco’s blood boil. Saying that she was a whore and that she had slept with all those people. Draco’s fist clenched. He took a deep breath of the cold air to steady himself. 

He hadn’t been planning on punching Nott, but he lost it when Nott said her first name.  _ Evie.  _ It was filthy on the other boy’s lips, along with the things he was asking Evie to do for him. That suggestion alone had been enough for Draco’s vision to turn red, but Nott’s use of her name was what made him throw the punch.

Despite telling his friends that the fight was due to the fact that Theo had refused Draco’s commands in public and that it had nothing to due with Evie, Draco was sure that he hadn’t convinced them. Pansy in particular, who had stood glowering at him from the far side of the Slytherin common room after he had returned from Snape’s office with Theodore. 

“You know,” Evie finally spoke, breaking Draco from his thoughts, “This would have been our last day of detention if you hadn’t been such a bloody idiot.”

Her words surprised him. There was anger in her voice, but mostly fear. She was afraid.  _ Of course she’s afraid, you bastard. You had to think with your dick and get into a bloody fight. Now Pansy has to know that you’re still fond of Evie.  _

“Pansy may know that I don’t hate you now, but she still has no idea that you don’t hate me.” Draco said carefully. “You can’t let her get proof of that.”

Her hand shot out and latched onto his shoulder, pulling Draco to a halt. Hagrid continued on ahead, oblivious to their stopping. 

“Me? Are you honestly going to tell me that  _ I  _ should be more careful now, because of what you did?” Her blue eyes flashed. 

“No. No. Of course not. But just because I’m in deep shit with her now doesn’t mean that you have to be too.” He snapped.

Evie scoffed. “I’d say we’ve both been in deep shit since the beginning of the school year.” 

Draco’s left arm itched, and he resisted the urge to scratch it.  _ You have no idea,  _ he thought wryly.  _ I’ve been in deep shit since I was born. _

“I just…” Evie sighed, removing her hand from his shoulder. “I don’t want you to be in danger because you stood up for me. I don’t like seeing you hurt.”

Her tone was so soft. Draco went still, gazing down at her. An odd fluttering sensation sprung to life in his chest, as if a pair of butterflies were trapped there. 

Evie was studying her gloved hands, a flush darkening her cheeks. Bloody hell, it was fucking adorable the way she blushed so often. Draco fought the urge to smile. He wanted badly to ruffle her hair, but she was wearing Longbottom’s purple contraption. 

“You’re such an idiot.” Evie murmured, finally looking up at him through her long lashes. She was pulling off her gloves, oddly enough. Draco didn’t think much of it. “Now you’ll probably be in detention till the end of this year.”

Draco snorted. “Not like I wouldn’t have ended up there anyways.” 

“You didn’t even have this taken care of. Madame Pomfrey could have gotten rid of it for you.” 

Suddenly, she reached out, brushing her fingertips over the bruise that mottled the curve of his cheekbone. Draco sat, frozen as she did so. He could scarcely breathe with her fingers on his skin. Unconsciously, he leaned into the contact, despite the pulse of pain where her cold fingertips pressed into the bruise. 

Reality seemed to sink into Evie, and she blushed--hard. “I-I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me.” She snatched her hand away. Draco remained still, the ghost of her touch lingering on his cheek. Then, “Does it hurt?”

“No.” His voice was rough and he cleared his throat before repeating. “No.”

They began walking again in silence, Hagrid several paces  ahead of them. The cold snow crunched under their boots, and though the sky was dove grey, no snowflakes fell. Evie wrapped her scarf tighter about her neck, so that it covered her mouth and nose. Draco looked worriedly at her hands. She still hadn’t put her gloves back on, and her fingers were turning red with cold.  _ She’s such an idiot. She’ll get frostbite if she doesn’t put them back on soon. _

 

**_Evie_ **

Evie knew that she should put her gloves back on. The slight burning sensation in her hands told her as much. But she didn’t want to lose the feeling of Draco’s soft skin beneath her fingers. It remained, a tingling sensation that made her want to smile. 

She snuck a glance at Draco now. He seemed troubled, his mouth set in a slight grimace and his eyes cloudy. Though, he often looked troubled, now that she thought about it. 

“He was lying, you know.” Draco said suddenly. “Nott. I didn't say those things about you.” 

“I know.” He looked at her in surprise, and Evie shrugged. “It didn't seem like something you would say.”

“You think too much of me. I've said things that bad--and worse--about other people. I'm not a good person, Evie.” Draco’s expression was pained, and he wouldn't meet her eyes. Evie noticed that he kept rubbing his left arm, but she didn't think much of it. 

“Well from what I've seen this year, you can be a real asshole. But this?” Again, Evie found herself pulling Draco to a stop. Reaching out, she tapped his coat, just above his heart. “This is good. You just don't listen to it sometimes. Maybe you weren't a good person in the past, but that's the past. Don't let it keep you from moving forward. Listen to your heart. It won't fail you.” 

Draco looked down at her fingers, his eyes widened slightly. Evie went to pull them away but he caught her bare hand, clasping it between his gloved ones. Their gazes clashed, and again Evie felt that same tension rise between them. It was electricity that set her skin tingling and her heart racing.

“You’re such an idiot.” He whispered. “Your hands will get cold if you don’t put your gloves back on.”

“First you get on my case about not wearing a hat and now about how I’m not wearing gloves.” Evie teased. “Are you worried about me?”

Draco snorted. “Of course I am. You’re always getting into trouble. Someone’s got to take care of you.”

The teasing smile fell from her face in an instant. Evie went bright pink, and Draco smirked in satisfaction.

“So put your gloves on, idiot.” 

He ruffled her hair through her hat, and Evie yelped in protestation. Draco laughed, then began walking once more towards Hagrid. She watched him stride away through the snow a slight swagger in his steps. Evie’s eyes wide and heart pounding.It couldn’t be… did he feel the same way as her?  _ Someone’s got to take care of you. _ The words were most likely meant in a platonic way, but she couldn’t help but hope that maybe they weren’t. Evie hid a giddy smile behind her hands, just in case he looked back. Draco didn’t.

The smile faded somewhat, however, when she recalled Pansy Parkinson’s cold eyes. If Draco did feel the same way as her--if he liked her as more than a friend, it could only spell trouble for the both of them.

She had no idea how right she was.


	12. Crucio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your patience! Chapter 12 is up at last!! I've been very busy packing for college and all that jazz so I was so happy to sit down a write a new chapter. I have a lot of 13 written already, so hopefully it will be out sooner than this one! 
> 
> Warning: lots of angst ahead o.o
> 
> Enjoy! <3

**_Evie_ **

“Draco’s right, Clarence. I’m afraid you have gotten rather fat.” Evie giggled as her plump barn owl greeted her with a caw the moment she entered the owlery. The night was cold and windy, but luckily the sky was clear of clouds, so that the bright moon shone into the owls’ perches. It had made the trek from the warmth of the Grand Hall after dinner to the frigid owlery much more bearable.

Springing from his high nest, Clarence flew down towards her. It was then that Evie noticed he held a letter in his talons. 

_ A letter from Dad!  _ It had to be. Her father rarely wrote, since his mission to hunt down Voldemort’s magical artifacts kept him very busy. Evie knew very little about these items, but what she did know was that they needed to be destroyed before Voldemort’s minions could get their hands on them. Taking the letter from Clarence, she quickly broke the wax seal and scanned the weathered parchment.

 

> _ My dearest Evie- _
> 
> _ I’m sorry I’ve been such an absentee father this year, but as you know the mission the Ministry of Magic has sent me on is of the utmost importance in the fight against the Dark Lord. I know that you understand this, but please keep that fact in mind as you continue to read my letter. I am writing to tell you that I will not be able to return to London for Christmas, which means that you will have to remain at Hogwarts for the duration of Winter Break. I’m so very sorry Evie. I know how much you were looking forward to spending the holidays together. Believe me, I am heartbroken as well. This won’t fill my absence, but I am going to send your gift once Clarence returns with your reply. (Which I hope will come soon!) Please know that I didn’t want it to be this way, but we’re closing in on the last artifact, as well as one of Voldemort’s most prominent agents of evil--Bellatrix Lestrange. I hope that you can understand. _
> 
> _ All my love, _
> 
> _ Dad _

 

Evie felt her heart sink as she read the letter, but she did understand. It was hard to be angry at her father, since his job was so important. And the fact that the Aurors were closing in on Bellatrix and Voldemort’s last magical item was both thrilling and worrying. If Bellatrix was captured, it would mean that Draco would no longer have to live in fear. It would also take the last figurehead of the Dark Lord’s army out of play, which would most likely end the Wizarding War. Evie was glad that her father and the rest of the Aurors he worked with were close to victory, but it made her stomach twist in worry. The closer her father was to Bellatrix, the more danger he was in. She was afraid for him.

That fear gnawed at her throughout the rest of the night and into the following day. She wrote her father a reply and sent it with Clarence at breakfast, before her Potions exam. Now, with nothing else to do, she poked around at her porridge, nerves a jumble. 

“What’s going on up there?” Harry asked, poking her forehead with a finger. It was just the two of them together at breakfast this morning, since everyone else was cramming for Potions in the Gryffindor common room. When Evie had announced that she needed food, Harry had decided to go with her.

Looking at him now, she smiled weakly. “Too much. I got an owl from my father last night. It was his first in over a month.”

“Really?” The dark haired boy perked up. Since Harry wanted to be an Auror, he was always excited to hear stories about her father.

Evie nodded. “He says they’re closing in on the last artifact of Voldemort’s. He’ll be as good as dead once they get it.”

The boy’s expression turned somber. Evie knew very little about what Harry had been through the past year, but she did know that in the Battle at the Ministry of Magic, Voldemort had hit the boy who lived with the killing curse. And yet again, he escaped death. For some reason, Harry’s survival had dealt a heavy blow to the Dark Lord. The moment the spell had hit him and he collapsed (luckily he managed to survive, though everyone thought that he was dead for a long few minutes), Voldemort became weaker. It was in that instant that Dumbledore was able to overcome the Dark Lord and restrain him. It was the turning point of the war. 

“I'll be glad when that's done.” Harry said. “Both of us have had enough taken from us by Voldemort. I won't be sad when he's gone.” 

“Who the hell will be, aside from deranged freaks?” Evie said, stabbing at her porridge with gusto. She thought of her mother and her father… one dead and the other constantly in danger because of the Dark Lord.  “I hate him. More than anything. I want him dead.” She snarled, feeling her stomach turn and her eyes prick with tears at the thought of her mother. “I just...want him gone, Harry.” 

“I know.”

They sat for a while in silence, after that, each lost to their own thoughts. Evie and Harry, while not as close as other of their friends were, shared a special bond. They knew the cruelty and bloodlust of Voldemort acutely. It still haunted them both, as it did now.

“If you're worried about spending Christmas at Hogwarts, don't be.” Harry said after some time had passed. “I've done it more than once, and it's really not that bad.”

Evie shrugged. “I don’t mind it. I could use the alone time, if I’m being honest. This semester has been crazy.”

Her friend laughed. “That’s an understatement. Speaking of crazy, let’s go take this Potions exam. It’s almost time, and I don’t want Snape to take points off because we’re late.” 

She grinned. “He would do that, especially to you.”

“Don’t remind me.” Harry groaned. “Somehow, he tolerates you. You can thank Merlin that he does.” 

 

* * *

 

Setting down her quill, Evie massaged her ink-stained wrists and fingers, loosening the aching joints. The Potions exam was over. Finally. The midterm felt like it had taken eons, when in reality it had only lasted two hours or so. Snape breezed by Evie’s desk, collecting her exam before moving on to peer down the neck of poor Neville, who was writing feverishly at the desk in front of her.  _ Hang in there Neville. We’re almost to break.  _ She thought. 

Leaning back in her chair, Evie felt a smile flitter across her face. Her History of Magic, Potions, and Charms exams were all done. All she had left were Transfiguration, Herbology and Defense Against the Dark Arts.  _ Three down, three to go.  _

A glance around the classroom revealed that only her, Draco, and Harry were finished. Hermione appeared to be done, but she was going back through her test and rechecking every answer meticulously. Evie bit back a smile at that.  _ Typical ‘Mione.  _

What Evie didn’t realize was that directly behind her sat Pansy Parkinson, who was also done with her exam. That realization would have saved her from the hell that was about to come. Except Evie didn’t look over her shoulder; that was her damning mistake. 

Snape had said that students had to wait for the two and a half hour time limit to be up before they could leave his classroom, but if they were finished with their exams, they could study for oher upcoming tests. It was surprisingly lenient of the Professor, but Evie assumed it was because he knew most students wouldn’t be able to finish the exam within the time limit. Judging from the many witches and wizards bent over their tests with only ten minutes left, he was right.

_ I don’t want to start studying for another exam right now. My brain is mush.  _ Evie thought, and so she grabbed her sketchbook from her bag, sharpened a drawing pencil, and began to sketch. At first she drew the outline of Hogwarts, but the picture bored her. Evie peeked over at Draco. He sat to her right a few rows up, reading a book. The watery light that came through the murky water of the lake and into the dungeon’s windows shone over his face. It backlit his white blonde hair like a halo, and caused the dust motes circling in the air about him to turn bright, tiny stars. He didn’t look real. It was as if he was some fairy prince. He was so beautiful it made her chest ache. 

Evie itched to draw him. She had never drawn Draco outside of her own room, for fear that someone would see. But now, she figured, everyone else was busy with the exam. Turning to the back of her sketchbook, Evie began to draw. The back pages where she kept all her other drawings of Draco, so that she wouldn’t accidentally open the book open to her sketches of the Slytherin boy when showing off her other doodles to friends. 

She was just getting to Draco’s eyes when Snape droned from across the room, “I said that you may study, Miss Marsh, not doodle. Get out a book.”

Evie shut her sketchbook with a snap, flushing when other students glanced back at her. “Yes sir.” She replied, slipping the slim black ledger into her messenger bag and grabbing her Herbology textbook.  _ Harry was wrong. I guess I don’t curry so much of Snape’s favor after all,  _ Evie thought gloomily, and dutifully began to scan the notes she had taken on various magical plants.

“Evie, can you show Harry the drawing you did of Hedwig?” Hermione asked as they were walking back to the Gryffindor common room after the exam time limit had ended. “I was telling him about it just now, and he wants to see it.”

Harry nodded. “I didn’t know you drew any owls other than Clarence. Don’t let him find out, or he’ll get jealous.”

“Oh please.” Evie shot back with a grin. “He knows that I love him the most over any other bird--or animal, for that matter.”

She fished around for her sketchbook. But her messenger bag was empty, aside from an Herbology textbook and a few spare quills and pencils. Evie froze, the smile fading from her face as she checked again and again. The book was nowhere to be found. Panic flared in her gut. Where was it? She had had it during the exam, and then put it in her bag when Snape had called her out for not studying. 

“Evie, are you okay?” Hermione asked, looking back at her. In her panic, Evie had come to a halt in the middle of the hallway.

“My sketchbook!” Evie exclaimed, turning to her friend with wide eyes. “It's gone!” 

“What? But you just had it.” Harry frowned, and nudged Neville who stood lost in a post-exam haze beside him. “Have you seen it Neville?”

The Gryffindor boy blinked slowly, then shook his head. “No. Sorry Evie.”

“Are you looking for this?” A smug voice sounded from behind her, and Evie’s blood ran cold. 

She turned slowly, praying that it wasn't Pansy Parkinson who was holding her sketchbook. But when she did at last look, her worst fears were confirmed. Pansy stood with the black book in her hands, flanked by Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise, and Theodore Nott. Draco was with them, but he stayed off to the side, hands in his pockets. Looking back to Pansy, Evie swallowed hard. The Slytherin girl looked like a cat who had just swallowed a canary.

“That's mine.” Evie said, trying to keep her voice casual. If she acted as panicked as she felt, Pansy would only keep the book longer to spite her. “Can I have it back?” 

Pansy grinned. “Of course. But I think you should show Harry that drawing you did of his owl.  _ I  _ thought it was quite good. Here...let me find it for you…”

Goosebumps bloomed across Evie’s skin, and her eyes widened in horror as Pansy flipped quickly to the back of her book.  _ Merlin. She must have been sitting behind me in Potions.  _ She wanted to scream.  _ I was such an idiot to not check behind me! Dammit all! _

“Give her back her sketchbook Parkinson,” Hermione snapped, her expression fierce. “That’s not yours to pry into.”

“But I just found the drawing!” Pansy protested with a sickly sweet smile. “But wait. What’s all this?”

_ Oh please no. Merlin, please no. Not those drawings, anything but my drawings of him.  _ Evie thought, every drop of blood drained from her face. She stepped forward out of the protective circle of her friends to grab the book from Pansy. But it was too late. The Slytherin girl held up the open pages of her sketchbook with a triumphant grin. There, drawn with damning tenderness, was Draco, bent over his Potions book. 

Evie felt her stomach drop to her feet.  _ Those are my feelings for him, clear as day. The moment he sees those drawings he’ll now. He hasn’t looked yet, but he will. Pansy will make sure of that. Merlin, now everyone here knows.  _ In that moment, Evie wanted nothing more than to melt into the cobblestones of the hallway and disappear.

“Is this Draco?” Pansy exclaimed in mock surprise, lifting the book higher for those gathered to see more clearly. 

Draco, who had been studying his fingernails, looked up in surprise. His eyes went to the drawing, and then they widened. Hermione let out a hiss of fury at Evie’s side, and Harry gasped. Draco didn’t look at Evie. His eyes remained on Pansy as she began to flip through the last few pages of the sketchbook.

“Oh no…” Pansy was practically cackling in delight. “There’s more.”

“After how much he hates her? What on earth could she possibly want from him? What kind of masochist is she? But then, maybe she likes the pain.” Theodore Nott sneered, his beady eyes lighting up in triumph. “Just like her mother.”

“Shut the hell up!” Harry snarled, his green eyes lit with a fire. “And give her back her book.”

“She can take it, if she wants.” Pansy said cooly, her snake-like eyes narrowed to malicious slits and boring into Evie. “But she’s just standing there. Look at her. Pathetic.”

Evie was frozen. She couldn’t seem to move. Tears clogged her throat and made her nose burn. If she tried to talk now, she would fall apart. So she stayed still.

“I’ll bet these drawings are what keep her up at night, if you know what I mean.” Crabbe sneered.

Evie’s chest heaved, face burning scarlet as the other Slytherins continued to look at her drawings and laugh, making as many lewd comments as they could think of. The only people who remained quiet were Blaise and Draco.  _ Draco.  _

Finally, he looked up from the pages and met her eyes, his expression shocked. There was horror in his eyes as well. Evie looked away, her skin crawling with humiliation. What on earth was he going to think of her now? He would think that she was some kind of pervert, drawing pictures of him all the time. 

_ I have to get out of here. He doesn’t feel the same. Merlin, I was an idiot to think that he would.  _ Evie felt a single tear slide down her cheek, unbidden.  _ Dammit. I can’t let them see me cry.  _ Without a word, she turned and ran, the Slytherin’ cruel laughter echoing behind her.

 

**_Draco_ **

Draco watched Evie run away, her loose blonde braid flying out behind her as she did. He was frozen, unable to process what exactly had just happened. The rest of the Gryffindors turned and ran after her, but not before Potter snarled,

“You’ll pay for this. All of you.” Then he ran after Evie as well. 

Draco watched him go, mind reeling. The moment Pansy had opened the sketchbook and he had seen Evie’s drawings, Draco had felt his heart soar in his chest, then drop in horror. Because in that moment he realized that Pansy had chosen Evie as her target. His fight with Nott had forced her hand, causing her to want evidence against the Gryffindor girl as well to give to his Aunt. Pansy didn’t want to see Draco hurt. Her real fury was with Evie. And now Pansy had everything she needed to make her case that Bellatrix should dispose of the her, without getting Draco into any trouble.  _ She’s in danger again because of me,  _ Draco thought, and he desperately wracked his brain for a way to save Evie from Pansy’s wrath. 

Taking the sketchbook from Pansy’s hands, Draco acted as if he wanted to take a closer look. His heart pounded, and he sucked in a breath to steady himself. 

“The drawings really are of me,” He said coolly, glancing down at the pages in mock disinterest. “In that case, I want to destroy them myself. It’s fucking pathetic, really, drawing me like that. She’s mental.”

The words were lies, but Pansy bought every single one. Draco felt his shoulders go slack with relief as she smiled widely. 

“Exactly. I’m glad you’re finally coming to your senses. Your Aunt will be so pleased. I was worried that I’d have to inform her of your recent scuffle with Nott, but it seems that I won’t have to.” Pansy seemed genuinely pleased. “Marsh on the other hand…”

Draco waved away her suggestion. “Not worth it. I don’t want to waste time on her. It will only encourage her sick obsession of me. What a weak halfblood.”

“Good idea.” Pansy nodded enthusiastically.  “I’m glad we can finally come to an agreement on her.” 

“Yes… well, now I’m going to go and dispose of this.” Draco muttered, “I’ll see you lot back at the common room later.”

Without another word, he strode off. Draco let out a long sigh of relief. Finally,  _ finally,  _ Pansy wasn’t suspicious about him and Evie. She believed that Draco hated Evie, and that the Gryffindor girl was nothing more than a waste of time. 

Finally, Evie was safe. And that was all that mattered.  _ Except now she probably hates you again for letting Pansy tear her apart, even if you had no idea what that bitch was planning. And the sketchbook…  _ Draco shook his head. He needed to think about all this someplace quiet. And so, the moment he rounded the corner of the hallway and was out of sight from the other Slytherins, he started running. 

He ran all the way down to the edge of the lake outside the castle, just as he had done all those months ago when he had cast  _ Riddikulus  _ to stop Evie’s boggart. The lake was frozen at the edges now, the weak winter sun reflecting on the glassy surface of the water. The air was windy and cold, but dammit all if Draco didn’t need that to keep him sane. His mind was going a mile a minute, as was his heart. So instead of heading back to the castle to find a warmer place, he merely pulled his robes tighter about himself and rubbed his hands together.

His mind went back to that day in Defense Against the Dark Arts.  _ Admit it. You defended her because you liked her. And not just as a friend. You’ve never seen her as just a friend, not even when you bumped into her on the train for Hogwarts and saw her for the first time.  _ Draco thought as he sat down on a log and flipped open the sketchbook, gazing down at the drawings.

Most of them were of Evie’s owl, plants, or her friends. Draco admired the way she delicately sketched their features, shading and blending only a little so that her portraits were mostly clean lines. Their expressions were so lifelike. It took Draco’s breath away. It was as if Evie crawled into the mind of each of her subjects when she drew them. 

_ What did you see? When you crawled into my mind? What did you see? When you looked out through my eyes?  _ His fingers tightened around the sketchbook as he thought of her, holed up in her room late at night. Sketching his face from memory beneath the dim light of her wand. She probably had another pencil stuck in her braid or bun, and strands of her hair would have fallen out of place, framing her face in gold. She would hum slightly as she worked, just as she did when she was in Potions. And her eyes. The blue would be soft and steady. Draco burned at the thought of it. 

He had only caught glimpses of Evie’s drawings of him when Pansy had shown shown off the sketchbook. Now, he flipped past the empty pages and to the back of the book, where he knew he would find them. Where he  _ wanted _ to find them. 

The first one was of Draco on his broom. It was dated to a few days after Halloween. Evie had written next to it:  _ I was really worried when he fell. What an idiot.  _ This brought a smirk to his face. There were drawings of him and Cat in the kitchens and down by Hagrid’s hut, back before everything went to shit, and Pansy hadn’t taken notice of Evie. Draco ached for those days. 

And then came the drawings after their fight. She drew him with more violent, dark strokes in those, his expressions always cold and cruel.  _ She draws me in those the way the world sees me. The way my family and my house see me. Cold and cruel and hateful. It was the way I saw myself--the way I wanted to see myself--before I met her.  _ He hated the thought, and flipped quickly past those drawings.

The sketches were soon back to her usual style. Drawings of him in Potions, him with that stupid trapper hat his mother had given him last Christmas on his head, and finally one dated to today of him bent over a book. Each picture was done with the utmost care. It made his heart go faster. 

Sitting back, Draco closed the sketchbook and set it on the log beside him.  _ I can’t deny it anymore. The jealousy over Dean taking her to the Yule Ball, the worries about her safety…I’m… I’m fond of her. I have been for ages. But what the hell am I supposed to do now? Do I tell her how I feel? Does she even feel the same? Maybe… No. I can’t let myself hope.  _ Draco let out a frustrated groan, burying his head in his hands.  Evie drew all her friends, so that would include him. That meant that those sketches were nothing important. But the way she had drawn him... the way her face had burned when Pansy displayed them. Before even today, she had treated him differently. The way she dove in front of the Grim to save him even though she hated him at the time… the way her fingers gently grazed over his bruised cheek after the fight with Theodore Nott…  _ could she really like me in  _ **_that_ ** _ way? _

“Dammit all!” Draco growled, taking a rock from beside him and chucking it far out into the lake, where it landed with a splash.

This was why he avoided any kind of romantic feelings. They were messy and complicated. But now they were tangled up inside him.  Draco had never felt this strongly about anyone before. He had no idea what to do. 

_ I just want to be with her. And not as a friend. I don’t want to have to worry when Dean flirts with her. I want her to be mine. Fuck! When did I get so fucking sentimental?  _ Draco stood from the log, grabbing the sketchbook as he did so. Walking back to the castle, he decided that when he returned the book to Evie, he would apologize for what Pansy did… but he also wanted to tell her how he felt. He would go insane if he didn’t.

_ What kind of sappy shit is this? Bloody hell, these feelings are making me into an idiot. She probably doesn’t even see me that way. I’ll be making a fool of myself… but I just want to be with her.  _ He thought.  _ Tomorrow. I’ll tell her tomorrow.  _

 

**_Evie_ **

Evie ran down the halls of Hogwarts, out the main doors and through the snowy grounds. She ran until her lungs burned, until all she could feel was the pulse of her heart and all she could hear was the roar of blood in her ears. 

She ran all the way to the owlery. It was the only peaceful place she could think of. Climbing the steps, she fought back the urge to cry. She prayed that her father had sent the package today, but when she reached the top of the stairs, she saw that Clarence was nowhere to be found.  _ Probably still bringing your letter to dad. He could be all the way down in the south of England for all you know.  _

For the first time since she had arrived at Hogwarts, Evie felt a crushing sense of homesickness. She wanted nothing more than to go home to America, back to Ilvermorny where none of this mess had happened. Standing in the owlery with the other birds fluttering and cooing around her, Evie finally let herself cry. She had never felt more alone. She didn’t want to go back to her friends, whom she had been humiliated in front of more times than she could count. 

After a good amount of time had passed, Evie’s tears dried. She was left sniffling and feeling sorry for herself. It wasn’t something she did often, but she felt that now, after everything, she deserved some self pity. 

_ All this pain is because I’m friends with Draco.  _ She thought.  _ If I gave up on him, this would be over. I wouldn’t have to suffer so much. But my stupid heart won’t give him up. I like him so much. I don’t want to cast him aside. I just want to be with him. Why is that so hard? _

She paced the straw covered floor of the owlery, mind whirring.  _ It’s not even his fault that all this has happened. It’s Pansy fucking Parkinson’s. She and Draco’s rotten family are the ones who have been the ones hurting me. Not just me. Him too. They cause him to hate himself, they raised him to be cruel. He works so hard...but they don’t notice. They just push him harder. Merlin, he never gets any sleep. He always looks so tired. Why can’t they just give him a break?  _ Evie felt a tear slide down her nose. 

“He deserves to be loved by someone, and no one has ever shown him what that truly looks like.” She whispered into the freezing air. 

“And I suppose you think you’re the one to do it.” 

Pansy. Evie rounded on her with a snarl. The Slytherin girl stood at the top of the owlery’s stairs, a sneer on her face. Evie sucked in a deep breath, trying to steady herself. But it was too late. Fire was running in her veins instead of blood. She was tired of being pushed around by and humiliated this girl. Pansy had pushed her around enough. She snapped.

“Well you certainly never shown him any real love.” Evie hissed, stalking towards the other girl. “You or his lunatic aunt. How can you do these things and say they’re because you care for him? How can you be so cruel?”

“I’ve done all this,” Pansy growled, “Because you’ve bewitched him in some way. I don’t know how, but he won’t see reason now. He won’t even say Mudblood anymore, for crying out loud!”

“And I’m bloody proud of him for that!” Evie fired back, tears springing to her eyes. “I’m proud, because I--”

“You what? Love him?” The other girl scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. It doesn’t matter. He would never see you that way.  _ You,  _ a halfblood and a failure of a witch. Draco Malfoy would never want you.”

“Maybe,” Evie said slowly. “The reason you’re doing all these things to me is because you’ve come to realize that he’ll never want  _ you _ that way.”

Pansy’s face went dark with fury, her eyes narrowing into slits. Before Evie could react, the Slytherin girl had drawn her wand from her robes and was pointing it at her.

“ _ Crucio!”  _ She roared.

The spell hit Evie square in the chest. She let out a scream of agony, falling to the ground. The pain was so intense, so all-consuming, that she no longer knew where she was... white-hot knives were piercing every inch of her skin. Her head was surely going to burst with pain. 

It was a thousand times worse than when the Grim had attacked her. It was even worse than being kicked and beaten until she couldn’t stand, until the death eaters who had killed her mother were satisfied that she had passed out. This was much worse. All she could feel was pure agony. There was nothing else.  _ This is how I’m going to die.  _ Evie thought as she screamed in pain.  _ Pansy is going to kill me, right here. _

But she didn’t. The dark haired girl ended the spell a moment later, leaving Evie on the straw and owl dropping-covered floor, trembling and sobbing. She could barely move; fatigue, relief, and the aftershocks of pain a heady cocktail in her veins.

Pansy pocketed her wand in her robes, standing so that she was looking down at Evie. A cruel smile twisted her mouth. Evie could do nothing but watch her, panting heavily as tears streamed from her eyes.

“You’re wrong. Look at how weak you are compared to me. Draco will choose me. Always me. And Slytherin. And his family. He’ll never want you. Besides,” Pansy’s eyes glinted. “He’s  _ already _ chosen me. We slept together last year. Many times. So get those idiotic fantasties out of your head. He doesn’t want you.”

Evie turned her head to the side in an effort to look away from that hate-filled gaze. She sobbed silently, her body trembling.

“Ah ah ah.” Pansy chided, removing her wand from her pocket. Evie flinched when the cold, polished wood poked her cheek, pressing harder with each passing second. “I’m not done yet. Don’t look away from me.”

Turning her head was an effort, but Evie looked back at her, bile rising in her throat as she beheld the look of pure loathing on Pansy’s face.

“If you even think about telling Draco how you feel, I’ll tell Bellatrix.” She sneered. “You think what I just did hurt? Just wait till she gets a turn with you. The Gryffindor whore who brainwashed her nephew into becoming a blood traitor. She’ll make what I just did feel like  _ nothing.  _ Then she’ll kill you. And if that doesn’t stop you, know this: she won’t kill Draco, but she’ll torture him until he becomes nothing more than her puppet. Until he would rather be dead. Think about  _ that _ .” 

Pansy whipped her wand off Evie’s face, just after pressing hard enough to cut the skin. The blood welled and dripping down Evie’s cheek, mixing with her tears. Without another word, the Slytherin girl turned and walked out of the owlery, leaving Evie curled on the floor. 

About an hour passed. Evie tried to move her limbs, but they were locked and cramped, her nerves still recovering from the spell. The cold bit into her skin, her thin uniform robes barely keeping out the chill. Her body was wracked with shivers, some a result of the icy weather, but most were from her sobs. Evie closed her eyes, praying that someone, anyone would find her. 

Hermione and Ginny did, nearly an hour later. 

“Evie?” Hermione’s voice came up the stairs. “Are you up there?”

She sobbed in relief. “Mione-” Her voice was so weak. 

They came up the stairs, Hermione first. The moment her eyes landed on Evie, they grew wide and glassy. Ginny cursed colorfully. Both girls dropped to their knees before her.

“Oh Merlin. Merlin. Evie…” Hermione was crying, gazing down at Evie’s cut face and trembling limbs. She reached out and took her hand. 

“What the fuck happened?”Ginny’s voice was filled with cold fury. 

“Pansy.” Evie said, allowing Ginny to help her up. “She came up here. I have no idea how she found me. Probably a tracking spell of some kind. She was furious about the drawings of Draco. She hit me with a freezing spell, and then cut my face.”

It was a far cry from the truth, but there was no way Evie would tell Hermione that Pansy had cast the Cruciatus curse on her. She would insist that they tell Dumbledore, and who knew what the Slytherin girl would do in her anger and desperation if she was found out. Evie let her friends help her back to the Castle, the pain fading and her body growing stronger at last. Back in the dorm, she washed the cut inflicted by Pansy’s wand, shivering as it stung. She placed a bandage over it, her fingers trembling slightly at the memory of the cold wood pressing into her cheek. 

Just the thought of Pansy and the curse she cast sent fear and aftershocks of pain skittering across Evie’s veins. She shuddered, taking a deep breath. Her heart ached at the thought of seeing Draco again, and being unable to tell him what happened, and how she felt. 

Because one thing was for sure. If her guess about Pansy was correct, then Draco did reciprocate her feelings. In some way at least.  _ Not that it matters.  _ Evie thought, squashing the happiness that rose up inside her at the thought as she rinsed her hands under the stream of warm water of the sink.  _ I can’t go near him anymore. And I cannot, under any circumstances, tell him how I feel. It’s too dangerous. And I can’t tell him about what Pansy did. Who knows what he would do. It could ruin everything. She’s finally going to leave him alone. She’ll leave me alone too, if I stay silent. And that is what I have to do. It’s the only way. _

Still, she couldn’t help but wonder,  _ maybe if I kept it a secret that I told him…  _ Evie shook her head.  _ No. Stop fantasizing. That failed once already. Today was proof of it. No… He can’t know. I can’t tell him, even though I want to. It’s the only way to keep him safe. To keep us safe.  _

Turning the faucet off, Evie nodded. This was the right thing to do. Still, it didn’t feel like it. 


	13. A Moth to Flame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kind of shook by how fast I got this chapter up! Also it's kinda long. Then again, it's one I've been looking forward to writing for quite some time now huehehehe. LETS JUST SAY THIS BITCH FINALLY SNAPPED!!! lol
> 
> enjoy! <3

**_Draco_ **

Despite his decision to tell Evie how he felt, Draco was finding it hard to find a time to do so.  Evie Marsh had become a very hard person to get a hold of. 

At first, he had written off not being able to talk to her to the busyness of exams. But now, with his completed Herbology midterm being collected before him, Draco finally admitted to himself that it wasn’t because of exams. He hadn’t been able to talk to Evie because she had been avoiding him. Every time he saw her, she looked away from him. Even when it had been just the two of them in the hallway after dinner yesterday, she had practically ran in the opposite direction. Draco had thought about sending her a paper owl with a message inside, but he had a sinking feeling that she wouldn’t respond. 

_ You’re such a fucking idiot.  _ He thought to himself.  _ She’s ignoring you. She’s avoiding you. She’s embarrassed because you saw her drawings. You still even have that sketchbook in your bookbag.  _ It was true. He still hadn’t managed to give it back to her, and so it sat, burning a hole in his bag. Draco was constantly itching to pull it out and look through it again. He already had a few times, when he was sure he was alone. It had only made the desire to talk to Evie--alone--stronger.  _ And if I don’t do it soon, I’ll be too late.  _

It was Friday, the last day of exams, and the day of the Yule Ball. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, and Evie would leave tomorrow with the other students headed back home for the holidays. Draco, on the other hand, would remain at Hogwarts. His mother was worried about him coming home for Christmas, since Malfoy Manor was currently Bellatrix’s center of operations. If Draco didn’t tell Evie soon, then he would have to wait until after the winter holiday to tell her. And the idea of waiting any longer drove him mad. So it would have to be today. Preferably before she went to the Yule Ball with Dean Thomas. 

When the final chime of the clocktower rang out, signaling the end of midterms and the start of the winter holiday, Draco shot up from his seat, keeping his eyes on Evie. She was talking to Dean Thomas, who managed to get her to laugh and smile. That sent a thrill of jealousy through Draco. He wanted to be the one making her laugh.  _ Except all you ever seem to manage to do is make her cry, you git.  _ A voice inside him whispered. 

Draco pushed away the thought, making some excuse to Pansy and Blaise about having to use the bathroom before following Evie down the hallway. Luckily for him she was walking alone, and even luckier, she turned down a side hallway that was almost always empty. Draco sighed in relief when he saw that it was empty again today. 

Summoning all his courage, he hurried after her, heart thudding in his chest as he did so. With one last glance down the hall to make sure they were alone, Draco called out,

“Evie.”

She froze at the sound of his voice. Evie turned slowly, a blush already coating her cheeks. Draco drank in the sight of her like a man dying of thirst. He had only seen her from far away these past few days, and it had wrecked him. She was so close to him now, only a few feet away. He could make out the freckles scattered across the bridge of her nose, the flecks of silver in her blue eyes. Draco swallowed hard. 

“Y-yes?” Evie asked, her voice trembling slightly.

“I...uh...here.” Draco dug around in his bookbag for a moment before pulling out her sketchbook. Evie’s eyes locked onto it, and her blush deepened. “I took it from Pansy...after.”

At the mention of Pansy, Evie paled. Her eyes went wide, and she swallowed hard. Draco frowned. The way she reacted… it was as if Pansy frightened her. But that made no sense. The Evie he knew wasn’t scared of anything. She was fierce and fiery. All thoughts of confessing how he felt to her flew from Draco’s mind as he studied her. 

Now, really looking at her, Evie looked far from fine. She had dark circles beneath her eyes, and thin, still-healing cut crossed her left cheekbone. She wouldn’t even meet his eyes. Draco frowned. 

“Thank you.” She crossed the distance between them and grabbed the book, then made to get away. She was running from him again. 

_ No. Please. I can't lose this moment with you. Not again.  _ Draco thought,  and without thinking, he grabbed hold of her wrist. Evie froze once more, her eyes locking on where his fingers touched her skin. Draco refused to let go. She was like a bird, and he was afraid that if he did release her, she would fly away and never return.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” He whispered.

“I-I…” Evie stammered, looking anywhere but him. “I had to.”

“Why? Because of what Pansy did? I’m sorry, I had no idea that she would do that.” Draco noticed how she flinched at the mention of the Slytherin girl. “Just tell me what to do to fix this.” 

He was desperate. He knew he was, and while it was pathetic and against everything the Malfoy name stood for, Draco didn't give a damn. 

“I'm sorry, but you can't fix this.” Evie whispered. 

It was like a punch to the gut. Draco’s fingers went slack around Evie’s wrist, and she pulled her hand out of his grip. 

“I…” She swallowed hard. “I think you need to stay away from me.”

“Why?” He snapped, stepping back into her personal space. Evie flushed. 

Her lip quivered. “I can't explain it to you.” 

“Well could you at least try?” Draco snarled. “Dammit all Evie. After everything we've been through, you're giving up now?”

She wouldn't meet his eyes. “Draco, this isn't about just us anymore. Pansy, she’ll--” Evie’s eyes widened, and she clamped her mouth shut. 

“She’ll what? Did she threaten you? Tell me the truth Evie.”

She was hiding her reasons for wanting him to stay away from her, Draco was sure of it. And he had a sinking feeling that Pansy had a significant role in those reasons. 

Evie looked out at him, biting her lip and fidgeting with the strap on her messenger bag. “I'm sorry.” She whispered. “I'm sorry Draco. But stay away from me. Please.” 

Before he could stop her, Evie turned and ran down the hallway. Draco watched her go, wanting to scream in frustration. It seemed that all he ever saw of her now was her blonde hair flying out behind her as she ran away.

 

**_Evie_ **

Evie ducked into the nearest bathroom, her heart pounding in her chest. She had come so close to telling Draco about everything that happened, but had stopped herself just in time. 

Seeing him so close for the first time in days had made her fingers itch to touch him. The bruise on his cheek had finally faded, but he looked tired, like he hadn't been sleeping well. 

“You're probably the cause of that, you idiot.” She murmured as she walked to a nearby sink, splashing her burning face with cold water. “He thinks you hate him now. Just tell him what's going on.” 

And yet, Evie knew that she couldn't. The memory of Pansy and her cruelty send a shudder through her. The memory of the Cruciatus curse flaying her sanity apart caused goosebumps to cover her arms and her palms to sweat. Ever since the spell had been cast on her, she felt the aftershocks of it whenever she thought about it. Evie sucked in a deep breath, trying to will her heart rate to slow.  _ Pansy’s not here. She can’t  _

“You can’t tell him what’s going on, b-but you can tell me.” Came a warbling voice out of nowhere. 

Evie practically jumped out of her skin in surprise. When she turned to see who was talking, her first response was to let out a scream. Hovering slightly off the ground at the sink next to her was a girl. But not a normal girl. Her skin was blue and Evie could see the bathroom wall straight through it. A ghost! She had seen the other Hogwarts ghosts floating about the hallways before, but none of them were students her age. 

“Of course you’re scared of me.” The girl pouted, her glasses sliding down the bridge of her nose. “Everyone’s always scared of poor Myrtle.”

“Wait a minute…” Evie looking at the ghost-girl with her head cocked. Then realization dawned on her. “Y-you’re Moaning Myrtle! Harry told me about you!”

“He did?” 

This seemed to cheer her up quite a bit. She floated closer to Evie, who suddenly felt chilly. She longed to step away, but held her ground. From what Harry had said, Myrtle was rather sensitive. Evie didn’t want to hurt her feelings.  
“Yeah. He told me about how you helped him, Ron, and Hermione during their second year.” 

“Oh he did? That’s so sweet of him.” Myrtle practically gurgled. “But back to my point… what’s going on with you?”

“I..uh…” Evie thought for a moment. Myrtle’s sudden appearance had caused her to forget about Draco and Pansy and that mess for a moment. But now her worries were back tenfold. She sighed. “It’s not really something I can talk about.”

The ghost’s face crumpled, and her eyes brimmed with tears. “Why not? You don’t want to tell me, do you? Is that it? No one ever wants to tell poor Myrtle anything. It’s always, ‘go away Myrtle’ or ‘sod off’.”

She suddenly began to cry, and to Evie’s astonishment, the tears were corporeal. Big, fat tears that splashed on the floor of the bathroom. Desperate to placate her, Evie said, 

“I’m sorry, it’s just that I-” 

Myrtle let out a loud wail, cutting her off. Evie cringed. She stepped forward to place a hand on Myrtle’s shoulder, but remembered a moment too late that she couldn’t do so. Her skin passed through Myrtle’s body, sending an odd shivery feeling up her arm. This upset the ghost even more, and she ducked into a nearby bathroom stall, banging the door shut behind her.

“There’s no need to be upset. It’s nothing personal!” Evie tried again, but it did nothing to abate Myrtle’s loud sobs. She sighed. 

Then a thought came to her.  _ Would it really be that bad to tell her what’s going on? I can’t tell anyone, and it’s driving me mad. Not to mention, I don’t think she’s going to say anything to anyone else. Harry said she was good at keeping secrets because she dislikes most people who come in here. And I just want to get this mess off my chest.  _ The more she thought about it, the more Evie longed to spill her guts. So she waited until Myrtle’s wails became more of blubbering, and then began to talk.

“I’m sorry. I can’t tell you all of what’s happening, but I can tell you a little bit.” She said, and Myrtle’s crying stopped completely. 

“Really?” Came the watery voice from the bathroom stall.

Evie nodded, then, realizing that the ghost couldn’t see her, said, “Yes.”

The transparent head peeked out at her. “Go on then.”

“It’s Draco Malfoy--I… wait, do you know him?”

For once, the girl’s face softened, and the hint of a smile tugged at her lips. “Yes. I like him. He’s always been nice to Myrtle. But he’s very sad. I can hear him through the pipes at night sometimes, when he’s in the shower. He cries there. His blood came down through the drain once too.”

Evie froze. Draco, crying? Blood? What on earth? The mental image of his blood swirling down a drain made alarm pulse through her.

“What do you mean?” She couldn’t keep the fear out of her voice. 

Myrtle shrugged. “I’m not sure. But I could look into it… if you tell me about what’s going on with you and him.”

Evie sighed. “Alright. Draco and I were friends, but now we can’t be, because he has a crazy lunatic aunt who hates Muggleborns and Half-bloods and wants me dead. And it doesn’t matter that she is on the run from the Ministry of Magic, because she has students who work for her and spy on us. They watch my every move and his every move. We’ve tried to keep our friendship secret, but Pansy found anyways and s-she…” Evie trailed, off swallowing hard. “She cast the Cruciatus curse on me.”

Myrtle gasped. “Myrtle was killed by a Basilisk, not that spell, but I know how bad it is.”

“It is bad.” Evie nodded, tears stinging her eyes. “And I want to tell him what’s going on, but I can’t go near him or I’ll get us both killed but I want to see him and I-” 

She fell silent, pushing back her tears. Now wasn’t the time to get emotional, but after seeing him so close. It had been torture. 

“I want to tell him that I’m not avoiding him because I hate him.” Evie felt a tear slip down her cheek. “I would never hate him. I-I…”

“Love him?” The warbling voice was tentative.

Evie’s eyes went wide.  _ But that’s it, isn’t it? The answer’s been in front of you the whole time. Not just like. Love. Of course you love him. That’s why avoiding him hurts so much.  _ Her heart began to go fast, battering against her rib cage like it was trying to escape.  _ You have to tell him. Tell him, and then you can leave him alone. It will hurt, but it’s better than letting it eat away at you slowly. At least then he’ll know.  _ Evie turned to Myrtle, mouth agape. To her surprise, the girl was smiling faintly. 

“I’m sorry--I have to go!” Evie breathed, and ran towards the door.

“What are you going to do now, Evie Marsh?”

Evie turned back to look at her. “Honestly, I don’t know. But I have a ball to get ready for. And I want him to see me. To notice me.” She swallowed hard. “Because I want to tell him. I want my feelings to reach him. I want him to know how I feel!”

With that, she darted out of the bathroom and took off down the hallway, her feet slapping hard on the cobblestone floors.

_ I want my feelings to reach him. _

She rounded a corner, feet skidding so that she nearly fell. And she ran straight into Pansy Parkinson. Evie stumbled away from her, her mouth going dry. Her spirits, which had been so high only moments before, crashed down to earth.

“ Watch where you’re going Marsh.” Pansy grinned wolfishly, moving to block off her way before Evie could duck past her.

Theodore Nott was at her side. It made Evie’s shoulders sag with relief to see him though. Pansy would never curse her in a school hallway, especially not in front of another student. No matter how beastly Nott was, an unforgivable curse was an unforgivable curse. She swallowed hard, and tried to fight past the panic rising in her gut.

“L-let me by.” Evie cursed the stutter in her voice.

“Oh dear. She seems to be a little nervous, doesn’t she?” Pansy asked, and Theo nodded with a smug grin. Pansy looked directly at Evie with her snake-like eyes, narrowing them as she took her up and down. “Remember Marsh. Remember what I told you yesterday. I’d hate to have to do something drastic if you don’t listen to what I say.”

Evie was frozen, the memories of knife-like pain digging into her bones causing her breathing to shorten and her throat to go tight. Pansy laughed, and Theo did as well, the two bumping past her. Standing alone in the hallway, Evie cursed herself.  _ What on earth was I thinking? I’m such a reckless idiot. ‘I want my feelings to reach him.’ That’s bullshit. I can’t tell him that. What the hell am I doing? That’s nothing more than stupid fantasy.  _

She hurried back towards the Gryffindor commons, tears clogging her throat once more. When had she become so emotional? She never used to cry this much. But it was all because of the thought running through her mind like a broken record on replay. 

_ He can never know how you feel. You  _ **_can’t_ ** _ tell him. _

 

* * *

 

Hermione, Evie’s immense relief, didn’t comment on her red eyes when she returned to the Gryffindor girls dorm, where they had planned to get ready together. Hermione simply placed a charm on Evie’s eyes that would take away the puffiness.

“Don’t worry.” She smiled gently at Evie. “It’ll hurt for a while, but it will get better, I promise. Just hang in there and try to enjoy your night with Dean, alright? You’ve more than deserved it.”

“If you say so.” Evie sighed. 

“I do. If all else fails, just dance your worries away. Neville has been teaching you for the past week or so. You’re more than qualified to.”

Evie huffed a laugh. “The fact that he was able to get me to dance anything other than a box step was a miracle.”

“Ron should have taken some lessons.” Hermione snorted. “I hope he’s improved a bit from the last Yule Ball, but knowing him I doubt it.”

They both laughed at that. 

“Now sit still.” Hermione instructed Evie, her tone brisk. “I need to set this potion in your hair and then mine.”

Despite her studious and pragmatic manner, Hermione was a wiz when it came to makeup and hair. Evie, who could barely manage to put her hair in a braid, was very impressed. Not to mention a little intimidated, since her friend was very particular about how she sit and stand and tilt her head. It felt as though Hermione was applying makeup and potions for hours, but finally she stepped back with a smile. She had been doing her own hair and makeup as well, and Evie stifled a laugh at the sight of her bushy hair pulled back in curlers and her face covered in a green mask. 

“All done. Now no looking in the mirror until you put on your dress, alright?” Hermione said. “Now I’m going to deal with my face and hair.” She glanced at the clock and her eyes widened. “It’s almost seven! I only have an hour!”

She went into a flurry of motion, grabbing brushes and bottles of potions while Evie giggled. Seeing Hermione giddy and excited about going to a dance with Ron. Hermione was right, tonight was a time to relax and enjoy herself. And Dean was a fun date. So she pushed the memories of Pansy Parkinson’s predatory gaze from her mind and went to put on her dress. 

_ Maybe I’m not happy yet, but I can pretend to be.  _ She thought as the cool fabric slid down her skin.  _ Fake it till I make it. But that’s a lot easier said than done. Fuck.  _

  
  


**_Draco_ **

_ Fuck this shit.  _

Draco was fucking done. He was done acting like he was having a good time at this bloody dance with Pansy fucking Parkinson hanging off his arm when he wanted nothing more than to be alone. He was done watching everyone parade about the Grand Hall, which had been made to look like the inside of a fucking snowglobe for some reason. 

All he could think about was Evie. The pain in her eyes and the paleness of her face when she told him to stay away from her. It was almost as if… as if she was afraid of him. Draco’s stomach turned at the thought.  _ Of course she’s afraid of you. Of course she wants you to stay away from her. It’s because of you that she’s been hurt over and over again. You keep saying that you want to protect her, but she still keeps getting hurt. You’re not enough for her. You never have been.  _

Draco thought back to the dream that he had all those months ago. Evie had been like an angel in that dream, her hair and skin glowing as she tried to pull him out of the muck and darkness he was trapped in. He knew he would only get her dirty, and yet here he was, still longing for her. Draco’s scowl deepened.  _ I never should have talked to her. It would have been the right thing for me to do. But I’m a selfish piece of shit who never listens to reason. And I opened myself to her anyway. Dammit all.  _

Just the thought of Evie made his heart ache like a fucking teenage girl. Draco still hadn’t seen her yet. Everyone was milling about the edges of the dancefloor, since the first waltz wouldn’t begin until 8pm sharp, and it was a few minutes before. Draco was careful not to look long at the top of the stairs leading into the Great Hall where all the students entered in, but he couldn’t help taking a glance every few minutes. Pansy didn’t notice. She didn’t even seem to care that he wasn’t talking. She seemed more than happy talking with her other Slytherin friends. Draco was nothing more than a status symbol for her, someone she could parade around on the dancefloor. He was something she could flaunt to Bellatrix as well. Draco wanted to hex her in the face. She was an idiot if she thought she could gain favour with his aunt. Bellatrix was insane, and was only using Pansy at the moment because she was useful.

There was a sudden rumble from the Slytherins nearby him, and Pansy hissed something about a Gryffindor whore. Draco’s eyes snapped to the top of the stairs. He knew who they were talking about. He wanted to tell them to shut the hell up, but when he saw  _ her _ , he lost any capability to speak.

It was Evie. Lingering at the top of the stairs with her group of friends. She was dressed in a long, pale blue dress, her golden hair falling down her back in loose waves. Draco couldn’t remember if he had ever seen her with her hair down. It was always in a braid or bun. The sight of her sent a spear of heat straight through his core, followed by one of pure jealousy. Because Dean Thomas had suddenly linked an arm through hers, and she was laughing at whatever he had just said. A slight blush coated her cheeks as Dean leaned in closer to her, flashing his trademark smile that made so many girls at Hogwarts fall in love. Draco wanted to vomit. He looked away from the two of them. 

Draco had wanted to ask her to the Yule Ball. But it was a fantasy. And besides, from what he had seen, Evie had seemed more than happy to be at this fucking Ball with Dean Thomas. Who was Draco to deny her of an easy and simple relationship? He had no right to her, no claim on her. 

And so the hours dragged by. Draco danced with Pansy when she tugged him onto the dance floor, and got her punch when she complained about being thirsty. He did everything expected of the perfect date, and without his usual snark too. Not that the Slytherin girl noticed. Draco allowed himself to be miserable, allowed himself to sneak glances at Evie while she danced with Dean and her friends. It was pathetic, but Draco was pathetic. He was pathetic to ever think that she could be his. 

“Stop acting like a fucking jilted twelve year old girl and go dance with her you idiot.” Said a voice at his side.

Draco jumped slightly in surprise to see Blaise standing next to him and sipping out of a silver flask. A flask that definitely didn’t contain punch. 

“What the hell are you talking about?” He snapped. Pansy was dancing with Theodore Nott, and so it was just the two of them lingering at the edges of the dancefloor with the other students who didn’t care to dance.

“Don’t act like a pussy just because Pansy’s being a bitch.” Blaise replied. “If you like her, go and dance with her, for fuck’s sake. You’re Draco fucking Malfoy. You fight for what you want. You don’t mope like a child.”

“You’re a bastard.” He hissed, but his friend simply smiled and passed him the silver flask. Draco took a swig, savoring the burn of the whiskey as it went down his throat. 

Blaise took the flask back, his expression bored. “I’ll distract Pansy. You may be a sorry bastard, but you’re still my best mate. And I don’t like watching you be Parkinson’s bitch.” 

“You’re a dick.” Draco snorted, but his friend’s words had lit a fire in his gut. He  _ was  _ Draco fucking Malfoy. He wasn’t anybody’s bitch. Certainly not Pansy  _ fucking  _ Parkinson. 

“Just go.” Blaise sighed. “Thomas just went to get her a drink. Stop dicking around and go for it.”

“You’re still a bastard.” Draco snapped, but with a wolfish grin on his face. 

_ Follow your heart.  _ Hadn’t both Evie and Dumbledore said that to him? Fucking sappy thing to say, but Gryffindors liked that kind of thing. Draco smirked. Fine. He would follow his heart, even if it led him straight into hell. 

_ For her, I’d damn myself gladly.  _

 

**_Evie_ **

Evie stood awkwardly on the edges of the dance floor, fiddling with the beading on her dress. Dean had gone to get her a glass of punch, leaving her alone in the crowd. A good number of people were dancing, but the fringes of the Great Hall were lined with less enthusiastic students. To resist the temptation of looking for Draco in the crowd, Evie studied the students moving about on the floor. 

There were Hermione and Ron, bickering as they danced. It looked more like a fight than a waltz. Still, both were clearly smitten. Harry and Ginny only had eyes for each other too. (Even though Harry had two left feet when it came to the waltz, they seemed to be having the time of their lives). And of course, Neville and Luna twirled across the floor effortlessly. They were the best dancers out there by far. Neville’s face was bright red, whereas Luna simply had a dreamy smile on hers. It made Evie smile too, despite the pain that seeing her friends so happy brought. How selfish was she? She was glad they were happy, but at the same time, she was so jealous of them. To be at the Yule Ball with the person they cared for. Her envy became so visceral it made her chest hurt. 

_ What the hell did you think was going to happen? That you would be as carefree as they are? Pathetic.  _ It hadn’t been all that bad. Dean was a fun date, and while Evie spent most of her time with him glancing about to see if Draco had arrived, he was still upbeat. It was odd. She both longed for and hated the idea of seeing Draco. It was if her own heart couldn’t make up it’s mind now.  _ No…. I’m not afraid to see him. I want to. I’m just afraid of what I’ll do if I see him. I don’t trust myself.  _

As if on cue, _ he _ materialized out of the center of the ballroom, and her mouth went dry.  _ Think of the devil and he shall appear.  _ Wasn’t that the old saying? Evie couldn’t remember, and the moment, she really couldn’t give a damn. 

Draco Malfoy stalked towards her, his gaze determined. He looked like a dark prince, dressed in all black with his wild white-blonde hair framing his face like a halo. He hadn’t bothered to slick it back. He was the most beautiful thing that Evie had ever seen, and it frightened her. She looked away, praying that he wasn’t coming to her, and at the same time, hoping against hope that he was. Even though she had told him to stay away from her. 

She dared to glance upwards, and there he was. Still walking towards her. Evie felt her stomach twist. She was scared. Scared of Pansy, of Bellatrix, of the way she felt for Draco. She didn't bother to try and hide these emotions from him. He could see them. It was no use hiding them now.  _ I want my feelings to reach him.  _

Draco stopped before her, mouth set in a firm line of determination. His chest was heaving, and Evie was sure that hers was too. They were gambling on their safety just talking to one another in public. And yet Evie didn't have it in her to tell him to go away. Her resolve to do so had crumbled the moment she had seen him.

“Dance with me.” 

It wasn’t a request. His blue-grey eyes bored into hers. There was a wildness in them, one she only saw when he played Quidditch. Her blood thrummed in her veins and she forgot how to breathe.

Mute, Evie nodded, and Draco took her hand in his. Skin touched skin and palms clasped palms and fingertips grazed fingertips. Every place they touched was a live wire, sending currents of electricity through Evie. She shivered.  

Draco pulled her out onto the dance floor, placing his other hand on her waist. His touch burned her skin like fire. Evie thanked Merlin for the dancing lessons Neville had given her, and began to follow his steps. The song was slow, which only added to the mounting tension between them. 

They danced in silence, eyes never leaving the others. Despite being painfully aware of the blush staining her cheeks, Evie couldn’t take her gaze away from Draco. 

“Why are you dancing with me?” Evie whispered. “People will talk.”

“Let them talk.” He snapped, looking down at her with those steel blue eyes of his, strands of white blonde hair falling into his face. “I can't take you telling me that I can't be near you. Not without a good reason. It's driving me mad.”

“I-”

“Did you mean it? What you said?” Draco said, cutting her off. 

“I…” Evie swallowed, then to avoid his question, she asked, “I thought you were here with Pansy.”

“I thought you were here with Dean, yet here we are.”

“We can’t do this Draco. It’s not safe.” Evie said, reality sinking back in. What the hell were they doing? It was going to get them both killed. The memory of the Cruciatus curse skittered across her bones like a spider. She shuddered. “You don't know what Pansy will do--”

Evie tried to pull away but Draco tugged her to him so that they were chest to chest. Her heart stuttered in her chest. What was he doing? This couldn't mean… she pushed the thought away. 

She was on fire, Merlin, she was  _ burning _ . She wondered if he could feel her heart hammering. Draco looked furious, but not at her. He hissed, “I don’t give a damn about what she’ll do. I won’t let her do  _ shit _ . I’m not her bitch. And I’ve had enough of her dictating the way we act around each other.

“You don’t understand-” She had to make him see. But Draco cut her off, his voice ragged. 

“How am I supposed to keep myself away from you when you look like this?”

Evie gaped up at him. What on earth was he saying?

Draco continued nonetheless, their dance steps going faster than the beat called for. “I would have taken you to this dance, if not for her. But instead, Dean bloody Thomas asked you. I had to watch you dance with him for most of the night, while Pansy hung on my arm. It was driving me  _ mad  _ Evie.”

“Draco… you’re being reckless. ” It came out as a gasp, her head spinning at his revelation. “We can’t do this.  _ I  _ can’t do this. I’m sorry.”

Evie broke away from him, hurrying past the other dancers. It was too loud here, she needed space--needed air. But all she could see was blue-grey eyes and all she could hear was the rasp of his voice and all she could smell was mint and green apple and pine. Damn it all. She was falling to pieces. 

“Evie? Are you alright?” There was Dean, holding two cups of punch in his hands and looking confused.

Evie shook her head. “I just need a breath of air. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Without another word, she hurried past him, nose burning as tears pricked at her eyes. Evie hated herself for getting emotional, and even more so for leaving Dean alone. He didn’t deserve this. Saying she would be back was a lie, but she just couldn’t be at the ball anymore. Not when Draco was there.

She still could feel the ghost of his hands on her waist, and the thought very nearly shattered her. Draco had touched her carefully, as if he wasn’t sure he was allowed to. Evie swallowed hard, trying not to think about the heat of his gaze when he had asked to dance, or the way his touch had seared her to the bone. 

Ducking down into a deserted hallway, she raked a hand through her loose curls, heaving in a deep breath. A few tears slipped down her cheeks, and she swiped at them angrily.

“Evie.”

She turned, and of course, there he was. Once more, Draco Malfoy was walking towards her. The moonlight cut across his face, making his eyes glow in the darkness. 

“Draco...” She backed away slightly when he halted before her. “It’s not-”

“It’s not safe. I know. Bloody hell, I  _ know _ . But why should I have to stay away from you? Because of Pansy? Because of my parents? Because of my lunatic aunt?” Draco snapped. “I’ve lived by their rules long enough.”

“It’s not about rules, Draco.” Evie pleaded. “It’s about life or death.”

Draco looked down at her, his gaze fierce. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about you.” She blinked away tears, her heart pounding.  _ Pansy. She’ll do anything. You don’t know what she’ll do. I do.  _ Draco took a step closer to her, and all these thoughts flew from her mind. 

He was so close that if she just leaned forward, and closed the inches between them… Evie staggered another step backward, bumping into a wall as she did so. She pressed the palms of her hands flat against the stone as he drew closer. Draco’s hands settled on either side of her head, blocking her means of escape. 

Evie turned her head to the side, unable to meet his eyes. “Don’t tempt me, Draco.” 

He was so close to her. So close. She was hot all over.

“‘Don’t tempt me’?” His grin was sharp like a knife. There was no warmth in it, only hunger.  “I tempt you?”

Evie couldn’t bring herself to look at him. “Draco-” 

She lost her train of thought. All she could see and hear and smell was him. His name was stamped across her heart and written on the very fabric of her soul. She clung to it.

“Draco.”

Her voice was a rasp, and she realized that her chest was heaving. It felt as if she had just run a marathon. Evie licked her lips nervously, and Draco tracked the movement, his eyes dark.

“ _Bloody hell_ _Evie_.” He let out a frustrated growl, hands tightening to fists on the wall beside her head. “Are you trying to drive me mad? Because I am very close to losing my sanity.”

She swallowed hard. “No.” 

“Two can play at this game, you know.” He purred, running the back of his index finger down her cheek. Evie felt adrenaline rush through her, all the nerves in her body going electric at his touch. “Forget temptation. Forget all of that shit. Give into what you want for once. What was it that you told me? Follow your heart. Don’t think.”

“But-”

“Don’t think.” He breathed.

“You’re playing with fire, Draco.” She managed to gasp.

“Then let me burn, dammit.” He snarled.

Then he leaned in and kissed her. One hand came up to cup her cheek while the other remained braced on the wall. She’d never kissed anyone before. She had imagined her first kiss would be innocent and sweet, but this kiss was none of that. It was hard and relentless and full of desire. It was unlike anything she had experienced before. 

Evie’s lips parted on instinct and Draco deepened the kiss, pressing closer towards her. She let out a soft sound as he did so, something between a gasp and a moan. Her face burned, but the noise only seemed to spur Draco on.

Breaking away from her lips, Draco angled his head slightly and began to kiss her neck. Evie’s knees went weak at the feel of his mouth against the soft skin at the base of her throat. Reaching for him, she wrapped her arms about him and dug her fingers into his shoulder blades. Draco let out a groan when she did that. The sound sent heat searing through Evie, and her toes curled in her heels. His mouth was making her melt.

She felt her back arch as he sucked on her pulse point, his teeth lightly pressing down. The thought of the mark of his kiss red on her neck made Evie’s stomach tighten. She wanted him just him. Nothing but him. She wanted to have all of him.

“I want you. All of you.” She breathed, and Draco shuddered. 

Then he attack her lips with his again.

 

**_Draco_ **

“I want you. All of you.”

Draco couldn’t help it. He shuddered. Those words on her lips, the images that they brought with them.  _ Fuck.  _

He was burning, Salazar, he was  _ burning _ . He was a moth drawn to flame, though he would gladly go out burning if this was what it felt like. The soft noises Evie made were driving him mad. Draco knew he would never get them out of his mind.

How was he supposed to leave her alone after this? After knowing what if felt like to have her hands in his hair, her back arching against him, and her lips on his.

She tasted like peaches and freshly fallen snow; she smelled of roses.  _ Amortentia.  _ She was his own love potion. He wanted to get drunk on her.

“Evie…” He murmured, bringing his other hand to cup her face. Her skin was impossibly soft. It seemed wrong to touch her. His hands were too dirty. 

Draco lip’s found hers again, and she opened her mouth. She was greedy with her kisses now, growing more and more confident with each touch. He had known the second his lips touched hers that this was her first kiss. And dammit all, he would make it her best. Until he kissed her again. Which he planned on doing.

She kept moving closer and closer to him, so that they were nearly pressed together completely. Except, as appealing as that sounded, Draco avoiding doing so. He was achingly hard, and he didn’t want to scare her. 

Voices. There were voices and footsteps down the hall, drawing closer. Draco sprung away from Evie, who leaned back against the wall in a daze.

They stood, chests heaving and their panting breaths filling the silence as the steps continued towards them. Draco’s eyes were locked on Evie’s, his gaze hungry. She was flushed and her lips were parted. They were swollen from his relentless kissing.  _ Fuck. _ Draco could only imagine how she would look if he took her to bed with him. If he spread her out on his bed and worshipped her body. What kinds of noises would she make then? Would her blush spread down to her chest? What would her neck look like if he marked it completely? What did she taste like? That thought made a jolt of pure lust slam into his gut. He swore softy.

Two first year girls rounded the corner, chattering animatedly. They hurried by, barely sparing Draco and Evie a second glance as they went. The moment they were out of sight, Draco moved to pounce on Evie again, who looked a lot less dazed and a lot more embarrassed. He smirked at the sight of it. One minute she was practically moaning into his ear that she wanted him, and now she was flushed pink. 

There were more voices down the hallway, and Draco sighed. The ball seemed to be winding down. There were people who were going to be looking for both of them. This would have to wait until after Christmas Break. Just the thought of waiting that long made him want to pin her down against the wall again and kiss her until she didn’t know her name. But, with what was a great amount of self control in his opinion, he stalked towards her and simply leaned in by her ear. 

Evie froze, her breathing still a slight pant. Draco grinned. 

“I suppose this will have to be put on hold till after you get back from Christmas holiday.” He whispered, nose brushing her cheek.

“I’m staying here for the holiday.” It was a breathless exclamation.

Draco’s grin grew wolfish. He pulled back to look at her. The students coming down the hall were almost upon them. Evie was flushed, her hair wild and her blue eyes dark. 

“Then you’ll see more of me in the next few days.” He said cooly, glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes, trying to play it off like he could care less. (In reality, he wanted to punch the air in triumph. But only Weasley would do something that undignified. So Draco settled on a smirk). “I’m staying here for the holiday as well.”

Her eyes widened, and her blush darkened. Bloody hell, he wanted to kiss her again. But the group of students had rounded the corner and were coming towards them.

“We’ll finish this later.” He said, then whispered, “And by the way, you may want to cover up the left side of your neck for the next few days.”

Once more her eyes went wide in realization, and she clapped a hand over the left side of her neck. Draco laughed at this, actually laughed, not caring that it scared the 5th years walking by them out of their skins. 

“See you around, Marsh.” Draco was practically beaming, and he turned away from her and walked down the hallway, a slight swagger in his steps. 


	14. Dark Marked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW! I'm finally back! College is amazing but insane because I am always crazy busy, but luckily am currently on Thanksgiving break, so I'm hoping to get a lot of writing done! I promise that I will update more regularly now since I have finally gotten into the swing of things here at college. Thank you all so much for your encouraging comments, they are what kept me writing and wanting to update this fic. You all mean the world to me. Now, enjoy!!

**_Evie_ **

 

“I'll miss you so much ‘Mione.” Evie whispered into the crook of her friend's neck as she hugged her tightly. 

It was just after breakfast on Christmas Eve, the day after the Yule Ball and the day students left to head home for the winter holidays. Evie had ridden down with her friends to see them off at the train station, wanting to say one last goodbye to them.

“I'll miss you too. But you've got more than enough to keep you occupied while I'm gone.” Hermione fired back in a low voice, her brows raised. 

Evie blushed, pulling away from her friends hug to smack her on the shoulder. “Honestly. Can you maybe not say that so loud?”

Hermione grinned. “Please. No one heard. But I’m serious, Evie. From what I’ve heard, it’ll be you, Draco, and a couple third-year Hufflepuffs. No Pansy. No other Slytherins. You don’t have to look over your shoulder for the next week. Enjoy it.”

“Enjoy it how, exactly?” Evie shot back, readjusting the scarf she had looped around her neck to hide a certain mark imprinted on the skin there.

Hermione smiled. “I’ll leave that up to you.”

 

* * *

 

Hermione was right. When Evie entered the great hall after spending her morning holed up in the library reading, she found that she had a choice before her. There were three groups of people sitting at the tables that lined the hall--the Professors, a group of Hufflepuff third years, and Draco Malfoy himself. Evie wanted to sit with Draco, but a painful shyness came over her at the sight of the Slytherin boy.

Still, she walked to the table where he sat and plunked down across from him, trying to ignore the weight of his gaze upon her as she reached for a roll. Evie was blushing furiously as she buttered the piece of bread, because she had inhaled his scent upon sitting, and now all she could think of was the growl of his voice and the feel of his lips on her neck. 

“What? No snarky remarks?” She asked with a laugh, her voice slightly breathless. 

Draco chuckled next to her. “No need for that. I’ve given you plenty to think about. Nice scarf by the way. But isn’t it a little warm in here for that?”

Startled, Evie touched the fabric, making sure it hadn’t slid down to reveal the rose-colored bruise stamped on her neck. 

“Would you rather I took it off?” Evie bit into her roll, meeting Draco’s eyes for the first time since sitting down. His grin was wolfish, and his eyes glinted. 

“Considering Dean Thomas isn’t around, no.” He purred. 

“Just because we… kissed,” Evie struggled to get the word out, and Draco smirked, “Doesn’t mean that I belong to you. You gave me a love bite, not a contract.” 

_ Shit.  _ She cursed inwardly. That made it sound like she regretted what she had done with him. Draco’s expression went blank.  _ Shit.  _

His next words were detached and cold. “Well, I’m sorry to have marked your precious skin.”

Evie floundered, desperate to right her blunder. “That’s not what I meant. I just mean that I don’t belong to anyone.”

“No, please,” Draco said dryly, “Don’t bother to explain yourself.”

“Dammit, Draco.” Evie hissed, more loudly then she meant. “Are you going to make me say it here?”

“Say what?” His eyes met hers, wide in surprise. 

Her face went scarlet, and she averted her gaze. “You know what I mean.”

“No, actually, I don’t. Enlighten me.” 

Evie stood abruptly. “I like you, you idiot. I thought you would have figured that out by now.” 

And with that, she strode quickly from the dining hall, leaving a shocked Draco behind her. 

 

 

**_Draco_ **

 

Draco spent that afternoon and into the evening rerunning the past twenty-four hours on an endless loop. When Evie had whispered into his ear that she wanted him, he thought that it had been the lust talking. And he wouldn’t have blamed her for it. But then at lunch, after he had acted like a total arse to her, she had confessed that she liked him? It didn’t make sense. What on earth did she see in him? 

Entering the bathroom to wash his hands before heading to dinner, Draco let out a long sigh. 

“Why on earth would she like me, of all people?” He murmured to himself, rinsing his hands. “I mean, I like her, but what’s not to like? It would make sense for me to like her… but for her to reciprocate my feelings…” He groaned, shutting off the water and going to dry his hands.

“I think there’s plenty to like about Draco.” Came a warbly voice. “Evie Marsh sees that too.”

Draco looked up to see Moaning Myrtle hovering above the paper towel dispenser. He wasn’t surprised to see her there. Draco was used to the ghost appearing when he talked to himself in the bathroom, which was more often then he liked to admit. 

“Wait,” He paused. “How did you know I was talking about Evie?”

“She talks in the bathroom too,” Myrtle replied, then paused, looking off into space. “Though Myrtle is surprised she told you how she felt.” 

“Why is that?”

“Well, Myrtle certainly wouldn’t have.” Said the ghost. “Not if that nasty Pansy Parkinson had been threatening her. Even the Cruciatus curse couldn’t get her to stay away from you.”

Draco froze, not sure if he had heard her correctly. “What did you just say?”

Myrtle’s response came quickly--too quickly. “Nothing.” 

“That’s not nothing.” He grit out, blood roaring in his ears. “What did you say about a Cruciatus curse? Tell me, dammit!”

“I promised her that I wouldn’t tell anyone.” Myrtle’s voice grew warbly as tears began to well in her eyes. “There’s no need to be so mean.”

Draco stepped back from the sink, feeling lightheaded. Pansy wouldn’t do  _ that _ to Evie. She was cruel… but not pure evil. His head spun. Maybe she had threatened Evie…  _ Merlin _ , he had to know.

“Please.” His voice was ragged. “Tell me what she said.”

“Evie said that awful Slytherin girl cast a Cruciatus curse on her. To keep her away from you. Said that Pansy threatened to hurt her more if she confessed her feelings to you.” Myrtle replied.

It took a second for Draco to process those words, but when he did, bile rose in his throat. Pansy had cast the Cruciatus curse on Evie. His vision went red for a moment. That fucking snake had  _ tortured _ Evie, simply because she was friends with Draco.  _ I’m going to fucking murder that bitch when she gets back from holiday,  _ he thought, pulse kicking into overdrive. Without another word to Myrtle, he ran from the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

If this was true, and he had a sick feeling that it was _ very _ true, he needed to hear the words from Evie herself. Dinner was about to start… she would be in the Grand Hall. Draco’s feet pounded down the hall, and he wanted to punch something. Why hadn’t she told him? Why?  

_ Because she was probably scared half to death of what Parkinson would do to her if she told you and was found out.  _ The more logical side of Draco’s mind said, but he pushed the thought aside. He was all adrenaline and fury and guilt. 

It was with those feelings warring inside him that he burst into the Great Hall, searching for Evie Marsh.

 

**_Evie_ **

 

Evie had just begun to eat her pudding when Draco Malfoy ran into the Great Hall. The doors slammed open--most likely from a spell he glad used. It caused all eyes in the nearly deserted hall to go to him, Evie’s included. 

Her heart stuttered in her chest when she beheld the look on his face. It was pure anger. She had never seen him so furious before. It was beautiful and terrifying. The moment Draco’s gaze fell on her, he practically ran across the hall to her.

“Draco? What-” Evie asked, but he didn’t say a word, simply grabbed her wrist and pulled her up from her seat. It wasn’t a tight grip, his fingers pressed insistently but didn’t hurt her. He always touched her with such care, even when furious, so it seemed. 

“Come with me.” He hissed, eyes narrowed in anger and chest heaving. 

Not giving her a chance to reply, Draco began to walk away, pulling Evie after him. She had to run to keep up with his long strides, and the moment they left the Great Hall, Draco began to run. Evie wanted to ask him what was going on, but sprinting through the abandoned hallways of the castle made it hard for her to catch her breath, much less talk. After running up stairways and down empty passages, Draco pulled her into an abandoned hallway. Without a word, he began to pace back and forth in front of what seemed to be a bare wall. After the second time, Evie gave up on waiting for him to explain himself.

“What’s going on? Why did you drag me up here?” She asked, panting heavily. 

“You,” Draco bit out, refusing to look at her, “have some explaining to do.”

Evie was about to ask what he meant when suddenly a large door appeared in the empty wall by them. After seeing ghosts and moving stairways, it didn’t really shock her that there was a hidden room inside Hogwarts. So when Draco pushed the door open, she followed him inside without question.

It was a fairly large space, with vaulted ceilings and large glass windows that looked out over the frozen lake and surrounding snow-covered forest. The view was breathtaking. There was also a piano in front of the window, as well as a bed and a table with chairs. It looked almost like a bedroom. 

Draco began pacing again, but this time with no particular purpose. Evie stayed quiet, afraid of what he might say in response to anything she said. Finally, Draco went still, his back towards her. The lines of his shoulders were tight with anger. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Evie’s brows furrowed. “Tell you what?”

He whirled around, white hair wild across his forehead. Evie took a step backward. The look in his eyes… it was unlike any she had ever seen. “Why didn’t you tell me,” Draco said, his voice rising with each word, “That Pansy crucioed you?”

Evie felt all the blood drain from her face. How did he know? Pansy would have never told him. The answer was clear enough. Myrtle must have snitched. 

“I-I-”

“You what?” He was shouting now, his lips curled back in disgust. “You could have told me!”

“And what? Let you go curse her back?” Evie said, feeling her hackles rise. “I had no other option! I couldn’t let you go and punch her like you punched Nott? Yeah, that would have helped a lot.”

“Fucking hell,” Draco snapped, voice rising. “You think that’s all I’m good for? Throwing punches?”

“You know that’s not what I meant.” She replied. “And this isn’t just about Pansy. It’s about your aunt too. Everything we do is reported directly back to her. She’ll kill us both if she finds out about this!”

His voice went quiet. “I told you I would protect you.”

Evie felt desperation rise up in her. He had to understand the consequences of this. It was too far over their heads. “How? How can you take care of me when you can’t even protect yourself?” 

“And what the hell do you mean by that?” Draco said, eerily still.

“Moaning Myrtle told me that she hears your crying in the showers late at night. She said that your blood is going down the Hogwarts’ drains.” Evie murmured. “You say that I hide things from you, but I know that you’re keeping things from me too.”

All the blood drained from Draco’s face. “What else did she tell you?”

“Nothing.” Evie frowned. What was going on? He looked as though he had seen a ghost. “What is she talking about, Draco?”

“Nothing. I just bleed sometimes. Cut myself shaving.” He said shortly. “And let’s not get off topic here. You’re the one who hid the fact you had been crucioed from me!”

“Oh no you don’t.” Evie felt her blood begin to boil again as tears of frustration pricked at her eyes. “Don’t go and turn this back on me. What are you hiding from me?”

“What are you, my priest? Am I supposed to confess my sins to you?”

“No!” 

“Then why do you care so bloody much?”

Her reply was almost a cry. “I want to help!” 

Draco laughed bitterly, stepping close to her, fiddling with one of his sleeves as he did so. “You think that you can help with this?”

He ripped back the sleeve of his white button down, reveal dark lines of ink on the tender flesh of his left forearm. Evie lost her voice, her stomach sinking like a stone. It was the Dark Mark. The mark of the Death Eaters. The mark of those loyal to Voldemort. No. It couldn’t be. She refused to believe it. Though now that she thought about it, Evie had never seen Draco wear short sleeves, or even roll up his sleeves when working either. A shudder ran through her body, goosebumps ripping across the surface of her skin. 

Draco laughed again, and it was a hollow, broken sound. “You think that you can help me now? Do you even want to? This is what I truly am, Evie.” 

She was frozen, mind trying to process this revelation. Draco scoffed, turning from her and walking to the large window that took up the wall to their right. He stared out at the snow, refusing to look at her. 

“Don’t you see?” He murmured. “This… whatever was between us… it was never going to work. We’re from two different worlds. I don’t deserve you. I was an idiot to even think that I could.”

Evie felt tears well up in her eyes. Despite the tattoo that marred his arm, his words were so different. And his actions too. He had no desire to be a part of Voldemort’s army. His father as his boggart was proof of that. Her stomach twisted as she realized how much Draco hated himself. How awful he thought he was. That he was some sort of abomination. That he was a sinner for even trying to be close to her. It broke her heart.

“I think you should go.” Draco whispered. “You don’t belong here.”

Those words sent anger that was like fire searing through her. Anger at those who had hurt him. Pansy, Bellatrix, Voldemort, even his own parents had done this to him. Anger at herself for not realizing sooner how tormented he was. This was so much deeper than anything she had imagined.

She walked towards him, standing so that she was only a foot behind him. Draco’s shoulders rose and fell sharply as he stood, looking out at the snow.

“No,” Evie said.

“No?”

“I’m not leaving you.” 

“Then you’re a fool.” Draco hissed. “This mark-”

“I don’t care!” Evie cut him off, her voice ragged. “Can’t you see that I don’t care? I know you, the  _ real  _ you, and some tattoo doesn’t change that! You’re an idiot to even think that it would!”

Draco growled in frustration, turning on her quickly. His blue-grey eyes were dark, like the surface of a stormy sea. “I’m a monster, Evie. Why can’t you see that? I only ever get you hurt, even when I don’t mean to. You’re so innocent and pure. My hands are dirty.”

“And you think mine aren’t?” The words were close to a yell.

He looked at her in surprise. 

“I’ve  _ killed _ people Draco.” There was no stopping the tears now. Evie cried freely before him, her body shaking with sobs. “You act like I’m pure and innocent but I’m not. I have this darkness in me that I can’t get rid of.  _ Merlin,  _ I took my dead mother’s wand and killed two men. Not one, but two. And I wasn’t sorry. I was glad when my spell killed them. You think you’re a monster? Well, I’m a murderer.”

Tears blurred her vision, but Evie blinked them away and continued speaking. She had to make him understand. She spoke fiercely. “So don’t you dare tell me that you’ll get me dirty. And as for you getting me hurt? That’s bullshit. Pansy hurting me? That wasn’t your fault. None of it was.” 

Draco’s eyes were wide, and Evie strode towards him. He took a step back from her, but she didn’t stop until they were face to face. 

“She cast the Cruciatus curse on you, Evie. She _ tortured _ you.” 

“That wasn’t your fault,” Evie whispered. 

“It was...I-”

“It wasn’t your fault.” She repeated. “None of that was your fault.”

And then his arms wrapped around her, so tightly that she stumbled back a few steps. Draco clung to her as if she was the only thing holding him together, his face buried in the crook of her neck. Evie clung to him, body shaking slightly.

“I’m scared. I’m scared for you.” He murmured. “I’m scared that Pansy or my aunt will hurt you because of me. I don’t want that to happen. All I ever wanted to do was protect you. But you got hurt because of me. She  _ tortured _ you because of me-”

He fell silent, his chest heaving. Evie remained quiet, waiting for Draco to continue. Finally, he spoke, his voice thick with emotion. “I only wanted to protect my mother too. I only wanted to keep her safe from my aunt and Voldemort. So when Bellatrix demanded she take the Dark Mark, I said I wanted it. But that was a lie. I didn’t. I was so scared, Evie. So scared. She burned it onto my arm and it  _ hurt _ . And it still does and I don’t want it.  _ Merlin, _ I don’t want it.”

“I know.” She replied, tears stinging her eyes. Every word he said broke her heart. “I know you didn’t want it.”

A shudder ran through Draco, and after a moment Evie realized that he was crying, his body shaking with silent sobs. Pulling away, she tried to meet his gaze, but he refused to look at her, hanging his head so that his white blonde hair fell over his eyes. Gently, Evie cupped his face in her palms and pressed her forehead against his.

“I don’t care about your past. I don’t care how dirty you feel your hands are.” She murmured. “I want you, just as you are.”

Draco pulled away from her, swallowing hard. His eyes were red and his lips trembled. 

“You mean it? You want me? Just me? As I am?” He spoke as if he couldn’t believe what she was saying. 

Evie nodded. “Of course. Some part of me always has, I think.”

Draco shattered, falling to his knees before her and wrapping his arms around her waist, forehead resting against her stomach. He cried hard, shoulders shaking. Evie lowered herself to kneel with him, wrapping him tightly in an embrace.

Somehow they ended up moving to the bed in that room, slipping off shoes and socks and sweaters to nestle under the covers together. Evie and Draco lay facing one another in silence. Draco had stopped crying by then, his breath evening out. There was still a haunted look to his eyes, mostly due to the fact that the hand Evie held was his left, and the sleeve was still pushed up to reveal his mark. 

Evie, sensing his discomfort, tightened her hold before allowing her free hand to come up to take his left arm in a gentle hold as well, cradling it gently.  Draco stilled, scarcely breathing as Evie lifted his forearm slightly, leaning her head down to kiss his Dark Mark. Her lips touched the inked skin, which was just as soft as every other part of Draco’s body, traveling up the length of the snake and then the skull it emerged from before pulling away, releasing her hold on his hands.

There was darkness in him, yes. Just as there was darkness in her. But there was also good. So much good. She wanted him to know that. That she could see the good. 

Draco surged forward, kissing her gently and wrapping his arms about her. They fell asleep like that, foreheads pressed together and bodies a tangle of limbs. And both slept more deeply than they had in a long time. 


	15. Merry Christmas, Evie Marsh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I have decided to kick off the New Year by completing this fic! I don't go back to college for a couple more weeks, and so I have plenty of time to do it! I never plan to abandon this fic completely, because I hate not having a resolved ending and such to the fics I read, and I don't want my readers to have to endure that! It's the worst! However, while I have everything plotted and ready, updates may come slower than I would like. My goal is to have the whole work finished by the end of this month, and while that may not happen, I'm going to try and make that dream a reality! I plan to work very hard so that ya'll can enjoy this work completed as soon as possible! Please look forward to it!
> 
> As always, your comments mean the world to me! Thanks thanks thanks for being so supportive! Enjoy the ridiculous amounts of fluff in this chappie! Woooo!
> 
> Chapter Song Rec: When the Party's Over (Billie Eilish)

**_Draco_ **

 

Draco was already awake when he felt Evie sit up in bed. He was planted at the edge of their bed, looking out at the snow falling on Hogwarts. A white Christmas. Crawling to the end of the mattress with a yawn, Draco smiled as Evie wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing up against his back, her chin resting on his shoulder. Her skin was so warm. He twisted to look at her.

Evie’s hair was down, falling thick and golden down her back. He loved it like that. Her eyes were still partially closed, a sleepy look on her face. He was still unable to believe that not only did she not reject him after learning about his darkness in him, but she also reciprocated his feelings. Draco almost wanted to pinch himself. There was no way that this was real. 

“Merry Christmas, Draco,” Evie said, and he smiled fondly at her.

He had spent the night drifting in and out of sleep, but Evie seemed to be able to sense when his thoughts were too dark. When he would shudder awake from a nightmare, she would move closer to him, wrapping her arms about him. The warmth of her body against his was a comfort that he had never before experienced, driving the thoughts that so often tormented him away. Draco was starved for her touch. How had he survived this long without it? When she moved to sit next to him, he craved her skin on his once more. Not in a sexual sense, though the desire was certainly present within him, he merely wanted to feel her by his side. Bloody hell, he was ruined. Ruined by her touch alone. 

Salazar, he was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that she was his. He deserved her least of any person on the planet, but she had given him her heart. And Draco would protect that with his life. 

“Merry Christmas, Evie Marsh.” He whispered, then just because he could, he added, “You’re beautiful.” 

Evie flushed, an embarrassed smile spreading across her features like the sun rising. Draco loved that about her. The fact his compliments and kisses made her blush. There was still a shyness between them. Their words and gestures were tentative and gentle, as if they couldn’t believe that what was between was actually happening.

“I’m hungry.” She announced with another yawn, “And I slept in jeans, which wasn’t the most comfortable item of clothing to wear in bed.” 

“Do you want to get something to eat?” Draco asked. “They should be serving breakfast about now in the Great Hall.”

“Mhm.” She hummed in response, falling back onto the bed and stretching like a cat, back arching. Draco wished that motion didn’t do things to him, but it did. Luckily,  Evie didn’t seem to notice. “But I’m still tired, Draco. I want to sleep more.”

He crawled to her, leaning over Evie with a slight smile. “I didn’t realize you were so whiny in the morning.”

“Am not.” Evie protested, a slight pout forming on her lips. She drew the blankets up over her face and body. “I’m just lazy~” 

Draco smiled, taking the sheets from her grip and pulling them away. Evie squealed, curling up to conserve the warmth left by the blankets. Draco laughed, throwing the covers over both of them and pulling her down so she lay atop his chest. 

“You are whiny.” He said, smirking. 

“Well… maybe a little.” Evie looked down at him, smiling.

Draco lost his breath. With the soft morning light that was seeping through the cream colored sheets of the bed and the golden tangle of her hair, Evie appeared just as he had in his dream all those weeks ago. Draco found a desire welling up within him to kiss her. And he realized with a jolt that he could. She was his. And he was hers. The thought caused uncharacteristic warmth to spread throughout his body.

Draco surged upwards, meeting a surprised Evie’s lips with his own. She pulled away from him almost immediately, eyes wide. 

“Shit, I’m sorry, Evie, I-” Draco cursed inwardly. He was going to scare her away, once she learned the depth of his feelings.

“No no! It’s not that! It’s just…” Evie went scarlet. “I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.” 

After studying her bashful face for a moment, Draco burst out laughing, then, just to annoy her, kissed Evie again. She yelped, scrambling from the warmth of the bed, taking the top sheet with her and wrapping it about her shoulders like a cloak.

“Draco!” She squealed but laughed as she darted away from him and grabbed her wand from the floor where she has dropped it last night before climbing into bed with him. “I’ll hex you if you don’t let me brush my teeth before kissing me again.” 

“You’re ridiculous.” He said fondly. “Let’s get something to eat. I’m starving.” 

Evie nodded, her childlike mood fading somewhat as she walked towards where he sat. She touched his cheek with the tips of her fingers.

“What are you up to?” 

A shrug. “Just making sure that you’re real. I feel as though I’m dreaming.” Evie whispered sheepishly, unable to meet his gaze. 

Draco smiled slightly, taking her fingers and kissing the tips of each. Bloody hell he was turning into a sap. He was no better than Weasley or Potter. But he just couldn’t help it. 

“Believe me.” He murmured, looking up at her from where she stood before him. “The feeling is mutual.”

 

**_Evie_ **

 

“So,” Evie asked after she and Draco had finished breakfast. The two were sitting next to each other in the near-empty Grand Hall, knees touching. “What do you want to do today?”

He shrugged. “I could care less.”

She sighed. “Well try to think of something festive. It is Christmas, after all.” 

“Don’t you have gifts to open?” Draco asked, taking a sip of tea from the mug he held between his hands. 

“Oh right!”

In all the craziness of the past twenty-four hours, she had forgotten about the pile of presents in the corner of her room, left by her friends. Even her father’s gift had arrived, just yesterday morning. 

“We could open our gifts together if you want.” Evie offered, feeling suddenly shy. Despite their confessions the night before, she still worried that Draco would reject her. This seemed too good to be true; a dream that she had yet to wake up from. 

“I’d like that,” Draco said quietly. “But… I don’t have a gift for you.” 

“Please.” She replied. “I don’t need one. And besides, I don’t have one for you either. We’re even.”

“Are you sure about that?” Draco had an indecipherable look on his face. 

Evie frowned slightly, unsure of what he meant. “What do you mean?”

She went still as he moved in close to her, the smell of pine and green apples filling her nose. Draco’s breath was warm on her ear as he whispered, 

“You owe me a mark. I gave you one. I expect a return payment.” She could hear the smirk in his voice. 

Evie couldn’t stop herself from clapping a hand over her mouth, her face flaming red. The mark Draco had left on her skin was nearly faded, and since they weren’t going to run into anyone today, she hadn’t bothered to wear a scarf. She had nearly forgotten about it. Draco, it seemed, had not. 

She drew back to look at him. Draco’s grin was positively wolfish. His blue-grey eyes were alight with mischief, as well as something darker that sent an unknown emotion lurching through her. Evie looked away, studying her own mug of tea. 

“You mean, mark you back, here? Now?” She murmured, then dared to take another look at him through the fringe of her lashes. 

Draco’s eyes went wide, and he coughed on the tea he was in the midst of swallowing, his pale skin stained pink. He turned his head quickly, covering his mouth with a hand. Evie cocked her head.

“Draco?”

“Bloody hell, Evie.” He ground out, still hiding his flushed cheeks behind his hand. “You can’t just look at me and say things like that in public.”

Evie’s brows rose, then a smile toyed at the ends of her lips. “Why? Does it make you shy?”

“No.” He looked at her suddenly, and Evie lost her breath. The only way to describe the emotion in Draco’s eyes was hunger. It sent a shiver running down her spine. “It most certainly does not. But I have a feeling that if I did the things I am currently considering to you right here on this table, you would feel shy. Not to mention I would horrify the professors sitting over there.” 

“What about the other students? They’re here too!” Evie’s brain had short-circuited the moment his bedroom eyes met hers, and it was all she could think of. The few Hufflepuffs who had stayed behind were also in the hall. 

“Please.” Draco smirked. “They’d enjoy watching. But I wouldn’t ever do that. I quite like the idea of having you all to myself.”

“Oh my gosh.” She couldn’t look at him. “Let’s go open presents already.” 

“Anything for you, darling,” Draco replied in a sing-song voice, a cocky grin on his face. Still, the endearment brought a smile to Evie’s face. 

She laughed and, upon standing from the table, took his hand. “Let’s go, idiot.” 

 

* * *

 

Draco and Evie parted briefly to get their gifts from their rooms, then reconvened in the Room of Requirement. They settled themselves on a pile of pillows nearby the large, open fireplace that roared on the far side of the room, knees touching once more. 

Evie opened her gifts from Luna (a pair of odd looking sunglasses), Hermione (a book on advanced Potions), and her father (a set of lovely paints and brushes, as well as a new sketchbook). The last gift had Evie squealing in delight, her mind full of the paintings that she could create. 

Draco only had one gift, which was from his mother. She had tenderly wrapped three things in the box she sent him. A book about dragons, a box of sheet music from a Muggle musician by the name of Claude Debussy, and a pot of ointment of some kind. 

Evie found herself quite curious as to the nature of Draco’s gifts. She hesitated, then asked, “What do each of these gifts mean to you?”

Draco looked away, expression shuttered. “They don’t mean anything. My mother doesn’t know what to get me.” 

“That’s not true,” Evie whispered. “I saw the tender look in your eyes when you opened each one.” 

He looked at her with an expression that made her shrink back slightly. Guarded and distrustful. Evie felt her heart lurch in fear. It was a look that the old Draco would have given her. Her lips pursed. Was he closing himself off again? 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn't have pried.” She murmured, then stood, gathering her gifts in her arms and setting them on a nearby table. “I’m going to try out my paints. Do you want-”

Strong arms wrapping around her waist caused Evie to go silent. Draco was pressed up against her, his breath harsh and fast on her neck. She shivered. After a moment or two, Draco spoke, his voice quiet. 

“The book about dragons is because I’ve always loved them. I don’t know why. I was so jealous when Potter and the others got to face off with them during the Triwizard Tournament. But I was so bloody excited to finally see one up close. I wrote to my mother all about it. She was so excited for me. Ever since then I’ve received at least one dragon related Christmas gift each year. You should see the pajamas that she gave me last year, patterned with dragons. Father hated them, but we both laughed about it.” 

At the mention of his father, Draco’s grip on her waist tightened. Evie brought her hands down from where they rested on the table and placed them atop his. Sucking in a breath, he continued. 

“The sheet music is because I play the piano. I love to play it. One year, I accidentally picked up a Muggle radio station on our radio while trying to change the channel. They were playing a song by an artist named Claude Debussy. I was shocked that a Muggle could compose such beautiful music. I was thirteen at the time. I don’t know how my mother managed to find this. Especially with Bellatrix breathing down her neck at home. That’s why I didn’t go home for Christmas this year. She didn’t want me to have to endure her. And like a coward, I stayed. I left my mother to spend Christmas alone, Evie. With  _ her.  _ My aunt.” Draco rasped out the last part, his chest heaving slightly. “Do you know how that feels?”

After waiting for a minute or so, Evie replied, “I don’t know how it feels, Draco. And no one should have to either. But your mother wanted you to stay here, didn’t she? Imagine how much more she would have hurt if you had been at home.”

He nodded. “For all I do to protect her, she still ends up hurt. The Ointment… it’s for my… mark. It burns at times. She found a cream that would soothe it.”

Draco went quiet after that, and Evie became hyper-aware of his forearm pressed against her stomach. As usual, he was wearing a long shirt, but she could still see the image of his Dark Mark if she closed her eyes. The memory of it was branded into her mind, as it was branded into his skin. She hated that it tormented Draco so often. She hated that his circumstances drove him to this.

Turning in the circle of his arms, Evie looked up at Draco. “Thank you. For telling me. It wasn’t easy. But please, don’t force yourself to open up. I’ll always wait until you’re ready. Don’t push yourself.” 

Draco’s eyes were glassy as he gazed down at her, but a harsh blink later, and the moisture was gone. He kissed her forehead. 

“I don’t deserve you.” He murmured into her skin. 

“Of course you don’t.” Evie said teasingly, “No one does. I’m a luxury item few can afford.” 

Draco laughed, his real laugh. Her heart fluttered at the sound of it. 

“Now,” She added, “Go take a seat on the couch by the window. And make yourself comfortable.”

“And why is that?” He asked her with a slight grin on his face. 

  
“Because,” Evie grinned, “I’m going to paint you.” 

 

**_Draco_ **

 

After assuring him that she did  _ not  _ want him to take off his clothes, Draco settled onto the couch by the large windows looking out over the snowy landscape, and Evie pulled over the piano bench a few feet away from him, sat on it, and began to paint.

“I still don’t understand why I have to wear my clothes.” He remarked, and she groaned. 

“For the last time, Draco, no!” 

“Give me a reason! Then I’ll stop.” Draco replied, stretching back on the couch and resting his chin his palm.

Evie blushed, busying herself with her paints. “It would be too distracting.” 

“Oh really?” He grinned.

“Ugh, see! I knew you would react like that. Just sit still, will you?” Evie complained, mixing her paints before turning her attention to the large piece of paper in her lap. 

“As you wish.” 

Draco liked to watch Evie as she painted. Her brow slightly furrowed in concentration, her lower lip caught between her teeth. She had once more piled her hair atop her head, and while he did love it down, Draco found the sight of her messy bun adorable. It reminded him of Potions class. 

Potions class. School. The reality that they had only a limited amount of time together before this would be no more dampened his mood somewhat. They were living on borrowed time. This small bubble of safety and comfort wasn’t to last once school was back in swing. Both Evie and himself knew that once the rest of Hogwarts returned, they would be stuck to meeting in secret--again. 

_ It didn’t work last time. You couldn’t manage to keep away from her. What makes you think that you’ll be able to stand by the next time Nott or someone else teases her? You won’t be able to.  _ Draco suppressed a groan. He had to learn to grit his teeth and bear it. Now that he knew the sadistic lengths to which Pansy took her job as Bellatrix’s spy. 

Sighing, Draco settled back against the soft fabric of the couch and relaxed. He could worry about Pansy and Bellatrix and all that shit once their time was up and break was over. But they still had about a week until school resumed after New Year’s Day. And he planned to savor every minute of it with Evie.

Before he knew it, Draco drifted off to sleep. He slept deeply. By the time he woke, the sun had gone down and Evie was no longer on the piano bench. Instead, she sat at the end of the couch, poring over the Potions book that Granger had gifted her. Draco sat up slowly, and Evie turned to look at him, a tender expression on her face. 

“You’ve been asleep for a few hours now. I just didn’t have it in me to wake you up.” She smiled, brushing his mussed hair from where it fell into his eyes. “You look so peaceful when you sleep.”

Draco grinned, crawling to where she sat and resting his head in the crook of her neck, inhaling the scent of peaches and rose that lingered there. His Amortentia potion hadn’t lied. 

“You watched me while I was sleeping? Stalker.”

Evie huffed. “When you put it that way it sounds creepy.” 

“Did you finish painting me?”

A nod. “Want to see?”

She pushed his head gently off her shoulder and padded in sock feet across the stone floor of the room. It was dark, save for the glow of the fireplace and a few candles lit on the table by the bed and those burning on scones in the wall. Draco enjoyed watching her walk to the table and pick up the canvas paper lying on it.

Evie brought it back for him to see. Draco felt odd seeing a painting of himself, but she hadn’t simply done a portrait of him. She had depicted him in the woods, asleep amidst trees and vines, which curled around his legs and arms gently. There was a dragon hidden in the pattern of the back o one of the trees, and a cat hidden in another. Draco himself was pale, dressed not in the sweater and jeans which he currently wore, but in his regular Hogwarts robes. He doubted that he had ever looked so serene in real life. 

“Do you like it?” Her voice was filled with trepidation. 

“Of course.” Draco looked up from where he sat before he added, “As your honored patron, can I commission another?” 

She pretended to think it over. “Alright. What would you like? Consider it your Christmas present.” 

“A painting of you.” 

Evie bit her lip. “I don’t usually paint myself. Are you sure?” 

“Positive,” Draco smirked. “Would it be too much to ask for you to paint yourself without your clothes on?”

She whacked his head with her canvas. “Yes! Let’s go get dinner. You need to eat something. Maybe that will get rid of whatever is going on with you.” 

He laughed. “I doubt it.” 

 

**_Evie_ **

 

“I’ve got it,” Draco said suddenly as they were finishing up dinner. 

“Got what?”

“Your Christmas present.” He replied, a smug grin on his face. 

Evie felt excitement thrum through her. “And what would that be?”  
Draco set down his fork. “Come with me.” 

Taking her hand, he pulled her after him. Evie felt a laugh bubble up within her as they broke into a run through the empty hallways of the castle. It was like all those months ago when Draco had taken her by the hand and run with her when trying to get away from Cat. Cat! Evie hoped that they could visit her before classes resumed. She missed the winged creature. 

“Can we visit Cat soon?” She asked once they came to a halt on the moving staircase. 

Draco nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. If we don’t, that idiot thing will probably fly around the castle to find us.”

Evie chuckled. “She is quite persistent, isn’t she? Remember who she followed you around after you found her?”

He groaned, “How could I forget?”

Surprisingly enough, the room that Draco led her to was their room. Or, the Room of Requirement. Evie cocked her head, confused. 

“What are you planning?”

Draco walked inside, pulling Evie after him. “I’m going to play the piano for you. If… if that’s alright. Would that be a suitable Christmas gift? I know it’s not something all that tangible but-”

She cut him off with a squeeze of his hand. “It’s perfect. Please play for me, Draco. I want to hear you play.” 

Draco nodded, releasing her hand and crossing the room to where the piano sat, pausing on the way to pull the bench back over towards it. Evie followed, sitting on the couch located some ways behind the piano. 

Night had fallen hours ago, and the room was dark. The glow of candles and the fire lit the room, but only partially. The light of the fire cast shadows over Draco’s face as he sat, raising the lid covering the black and white keys before positioning his fingers on them.

“This is a song called Claire de Lune, or Moonlight. It’s by the Muggle composer I mentioned, Debussy.” Draco said, then turned his attention back to the keys. 

The first few notes were delicate, almost tentative. They hung in the air of the room, and Evie felt herself relax. They were like a lullaby. The music was gentle and soft, reminding her of her mother’s touch or the feel of silk. Then the tone shifted, and Draco began to play somewhat harder, bringing another element to the song. Bittersweet, like dark chocolate. The song shifted to a more wide and sweeping sound, and the music enveloped her. 

Evie wanted to see Draco’s face. Wanted to see it so that later, she could paint it. But from her vantage point on the couch all she could see was the strong lines of his shoulder and back, was stark against a wide window looking out over Hogwarts. The snow fell heavily outside. Draco was like that snow. So pale and cold. And yet… not. Evie knew this because Draco melted at her touch.

Standing from her spot on the couch, Evie walked to the window, glancing outside at the snowfall before turning to look at Draco’s face. 

His eyes were closed, lips slightly parted as his fingers flew across the keys. Draco looked like some sort of beautiful fallen angel. He was in a rhapsody all of his own. Evie longed to join him there, but she had a feeling that the only way she could experience the emotions Draco currently felt was by sitting down and pounding at the ivory keys herself. She closed her eyes, and let the music sweep her away.

 

**_Draco_ **

 

Draco lifted his fingers from the keys. They were trembling. Turning to face Evie, he looked over to where she stood by the window. The low light kept much of her face in shadow. 

“Evie? Did… did you like it?” He cursed the way that his voice betrayed his own trepidation. 

There was no response. Evie simply walked to him, her expression one that he had never seen before. It was deadly serious, but not in a bad way. It was serious in a way that sent fire flooding through his veins instead of blood. 

Standing between his legs, Evie took Draco’s face in her hands, tilting it so that he met her eyes. The fire cast golden light upon her face, making her look like some kind of goddess. Draco forgot how to breathe. 

“It was beautiful.” She murmured. “You didn’t even have to ask me if I liked it. Of course, I liked it.”

“Oh.” Was all he managed to say. 

Before Draco could comprehend what was happening, Evie had crawled into his lap, her legs wrapped around his waist. Draco’s hands went immediately to her sides, holding her in place. 

“What are you doing?”

Evie looked at where her hands rested on his shoulders, refusing to meet his gaze. “May I… pay back the debt that I owe you?”

“You owe me nothing.” He said, then realized what she was talking about. Draco’s brows rose, and he amended, “Oh. That. Yes.” 

Evie leaned down and buried her face in his neck. Draco shuddered at the feeling of her breath on the sensitive skin there.

“I’ve never done this before. So please, be patient with me.” She whispered. 

The moment that her lips touched the skin of his neck, Draco’s head fell backward and his eyes clenched his shut. Despite not having experience, Evie seemed to have a fairly good idea of what she was doing. At least, it sure felt like it. 

“You’re sure you've never done this befo-ah.” Draco ground out when she sucked on the skin of his neck. “ _ Fuck _ .” 

Evie pulled back immediately, her face flushed and eyes wide. “I’m sorry! Did I hurt you?”

Draco growled low in his throat. “No. Not in the slightest.” 

“Oh.” She fell silent. 

Kissing her heatedly, Draco leaned into her ear and murmured, “You have no idea how much I want to lay you down on the top of this piano and make you moan. You drive me  _ mad _ , Evie.” 

Evie gasped, fingers tightening on his shoulders. “What’s stopping you?” 

Huffing a laugh, he pulled back to look at her. Evie’s skin was scarlet, and her chest heaving with each breath. 

“Because…” Draco drawled, touching her kiss-swollen lips with a finger. “Good things come to those who wait. And when I do finally take you, I want you to beg for it.” 

As expected, her eyes went wide. “I will do no such thing!” 

He laughed, “We’ll see about that. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to go take a shower.” 

Evie crawled off his lap, pouting slightly. “You’re an idiot, Malfoy. I’m never going to beg.” 

“As I said,” He called back as he headed for the door, “We’ll see about that, Marsh. We’ll wait and see.”

_ Bloody hell, I just made a promise that I won’t be able to keep.  _ Draco thought as he walked towards the Slytherin dorms.  _ But I’m not ready for that yet. And neither is she.  _ All the same, when he got in the shower, he turned it all the way to cold. 


	16. What Happened in the Prefects' Bath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Please enjoy this chapter! A hint of smut, a touch of angst, and loads of fluff because these two deserve it, amiright? Enjoy~~~ uwu

**___Evie_ **

 

Evie had come to a realization. It dawned on her New Years Eve when, opening waking, she found Draco sleeping with his head buried in the crook of her neck. He was deep in slumber, his breaths even and slow.

The realization that she had come to was that Draco loved the crook of her neck. The Slytherin boy was constantly coming up behind her and resting his head there. The worst was when he would kiss her there because he knew that it was a sensitive place for her. Especially after all the marks that were already pressed into the space where her neck met her shoulder. Evie flushed at the thought. 

The past few days had been pure bliss, she thought with a smile, taking her fingers and carding them through Draco’s hair. He didn’t style it back anymore, not after she had shyly admitted that she liked it messy. Draco was becoming more relaxed and open around her, and it made Evie’s heart soar. They had spent most of their time resting or reading to one another from Draco’s book on dragons. It wasn’t Evie’s passion, but she loved to hear the gentle cadence of Draco’s voice as she lay back against his chest; feel the rise and fall of his ribs. Draco would often play the piano as well, both songs he knew and ones he was working on. Evie would paint while he did this. It was so peaceful. They never had much peace in the past. 

Today was New Year’s Eve, which marked their last day together like this. Students returned tomorrow, and classes would resume as usual by January 2nd. The thought disheartened Evie to some extent. She had been trying to keep it from her mind, but now it caught up with her. They would have to keep their relationship secret after this. There would be no more eating in the dining hall together, or running through the hallways hand in hand. Pansy would be returning too. Evie shivered, her hand pausing its movements. Pansy. She hadn’t thought of the girl in a while. Her body felt the memory of the Cruciatus Curse, the pain ghosting down her spine. Evie stifled a whimper. 

For all her brave talk of wanting to be with Draco no matter what, she still feared Pansy and what the girl would do. 

“I really am pathetic,” She whispered, squeezing her eyes shut.

  
  


**_Draco_ **

 

Draco loved to sleep curled with Evie, head against her heart, arms around her torso, and legs tangled with hers. Her heartbeat soothed him, in a way nothing ever had before. He found, however, that when he woke up, his head always was relocated to the crook of her neck. It was the same when his eyes opened on the morning of New Year's Eve. 

Evie was running her fingers through his hair, and so Draco pretended to remain asleep, knowing that she would stop immediately if she knew that he was awake. Her courage in regards to acts of affection came and went in sporadic bursts, Draco had found. After she had marked his neck, he had expected her to become more bold with her advances. And yet the next day, Evie remained as shy as ever, seemingly forgetting her forwardness the night before. 

He was broken from his thoughts when Evie’s hand suddenly stilled and she shivered. Draco frowned. A noise nearly escaped Evie. Draco went stiff. It sounded like a whimper. He was about to sit up and ask what was wrong when she spoke. 

“I really am pathetic.” Evie murmured. “She still scares me.”

He knew in an instant that she was talking about Pansy Parkinson. Draco sat up, and Evie let out a small shriek, jerking up into a sitting position as well. He looked at her. Her eyes were wide, slightly glassy, her golden hair a tangled mess. Bloody hell, she was beautiful.

“D-did you hear that?” 

He nodded. 

Evie looked away from him. “I’m sorry. I should be braver. I’m not… not strong enough.” The last part came as a whisper.

She looked up in surprise when Draco pressed his finger to the tip of her nose. “You can be a real idiot sometimes.” He remarked, a slight smile on his face. 

How could she think that? That she wasn’t brave? She was still with him, after all. That in and of itself was an act of bravery alone. Evie looked away again, and Draco dropped his finger. How could he make her see? 

Draco sat back, then pulled back the sleeve on his left arm. The Dark Mark pressed into his skin was garish and grotesque in the buttery morning light, but he bit back his revulsion. Evie glanced to his arm, eyes widening slightly when she noticed he had revealed it to her. It was a rare occurrence. It wasn’t that Evie cared about the Mark. It was Draco. He hated it, hated to see it and be reminded of what it meant for him… for her...for the two of them. 

“Does this scare you?” He struggled to keep his voice steady. 

“Of course not. It’s just a mark.” She frowned. “But I don’t understand. There isn’t a correlation.” 

“You’re wrong again.” Draco murmured, letting his sleeve drop. He took Evie’s face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. “That mark? It scares the hell out of me. You don’t even blink an eye when you see it. Marsh, you’re a Gryffindor for Merlin’s sake. The Sorting Hat saw bravery in you put it on. Don’t you see? You’re the bravest person I know?”

Evie’s eyes were wide. “Really?”

Draco laughed softly. “Of course. Idiot.” 

Her lip quivered slightly, and then she lunged forward, nearly tackling Draco with the force of her hug. He melted into her touch, as he always did, arms encircling her and holding her close to him. 

A thought came to him. Draco said, “I’ve got an idea.” 

“What’s that?”

“Let’s go skating.” 

Evie pulled away, her whole face aglow. “I’d love that! I used to go with my Father back in America. Though, I don’t have an skates.”

Draco grinned. “Don’t worry. I’ve got just the thing.” 

 

**_Evie_ **

 

They trekked out of the castle around noon, dressed warmly in boots and hats and mittens. Draco had been worried that Evie wouldn’t be warm enough, going so far as to wrap his Slytherin scarf around her neck and pull Neville’s hat further over her ears, muttering that he didn’t want her to catch a cold. It brought a smile to her face. 

Skating on the main lake was out of the question since the ice was unlikely to be thick enough. Not to mention there were all kinds of creatures lurking in the depths of that body of water. However, Draco knew of a sizeable pond that was located not too far in the forest, so they went there. 

Evie noticed that Draco carried no skates with him, but every time she asked about it, he would just smile and tell her not to worry. They arrived at the pond. 

“Well, where are your skates?” Evie asked with a smile. 

Draco grinned. “Prepare to be amazed by magical capabilities, Evie Marsh. Finally, after years of trudging through that horribly boring subject, I found a Transfiguration spell that I actually use.” 

Removing his wand from the pocket of his navy pea coat, Draco pointed at the snow nearby him and murmured a few words. The particles flew to Evie’s boots, encrusting them in ice. She looked down in surprise to watch the ice on the soles of her boots harden, then stretch downward and form into blades. The spell caused her to gain a few inches in height, as well as to lose her balance. Falling forward, she let out a squeak, then was instantly caught in strong arms. Draco smirked down at her.

“Clumsy.” He teased, poking the tip of her nose. 

However, when creating his own skates, Draco also tottered forward and reached out towards Evie to steady himself. She jumped away with a laugh, and he fell face-first into the snow. 

“Clumsy~” She sang to him, then let out a yelp as he grabbed for her ankle to pull her down into the snow with him. Evie jumped away. “Nice try!”

Draco looked up at her, snowflakes caught in his hair and eyelashes. “You’ll pay for that, Marsh.” He said darkly, though a smile played at his lips. 

“Not if you can’t catch me!” Evie laughed and stepped onto the ice, skating quickly away from him.

“We’ll see about that!” Draco said, standing on wobbly legs before joining her on the frozen pond.

Evie yelped as he came skating towards her, moving away before he could grab hold of her. Laughing, she managed to evade him for a fair amount of time. Soon the two were on opposite ends of the pond, regarding each other with distrust while they caught their breath. 

“Just give it up, Marsh!” Draco called. “I’ll get you eventually!”

“Then what are you waiting for?” Evie teased. 

“I’m-” He stopped talking and his eyes went wide. “Cat?”

“What?” Evie cocked her head. “Cat?”

“Behind you! He’s coming towards us!”

“Nice try. I’m not falling for that-” She was cut off by the sound of flapping wings and a meow. 

Turning, Evie found that Draco was right. Hovering a few feet in front of her was none other than their winged Cat. Evie laughed.

“So you weren’t joking.”

“Told you.” Draco’s voice was suddenly much closer, and before Evie could skate away, his arms wrapped around her waist. “And also, I told you I’d get you eventually.”

“That’s not fair,” Evie complained, turning in the circle of his embrace to glare up at him. Draco’s expression was smug. “You cheated.”

“Did not. I just used my surroundings to my advantage.” He smirked. “You should try it sometime, Marsh.”

There came a loud meow from directly above them. Evie giggled. “I think that someone is feeling a little left out.”

Draco groaned. “I never can seem to lose that thing, can I?” 

Evie smiled and, standing on the points of her skates, kissed his cold cheek. “Maybe that’s for the best.”

 

**_Dumbledore_ **

 

“I’m tellin’ yeh, that darned cat is trouble.” Hagrid complained with a groan. “I like it fair enough, but it’s always runnin’ away. Or, flyin’, would be the correc’ word.” 

Albus smiled, looking up at the snow-laden trees that towered above the trail that he and Hagrid walked on. He enjoyed visiting the forest with the large man, and today was no exception. Though he was hesitant to admit it, Albus found it quite amusing that the winged cat was constantly trying to find its way back to Draco Malfoy and Evie Marsh. 

“I’m going teh look over there,” Hagrid announced. “Mind takin’ that path, Albus? It leads teh the pond.” 

“Of course, Rubeus.” He smiled, and the two parted ways. 

Upon coming to the pond, however, Albus was met with an unexpected sight. Evie Marsh and Draco Malfoy were skating hand in hand on the pond, the winged Cat flying above them. As he watched, Evie reached up with her free hand and scratched the Cat’s stomach. The creature purred, dropping down to perch on Draco’s shoulder. The boy jumped slightly, scowling. Evie laughed, poking his cheek with a finger.

Albus smiled, though the feeling that welled up within him was bittersweet. He remembered skating on that lake once, many years ago. He had been with the one he loved then as well. And, like Evie, his lover had a darker side within himself. Except, Gellert had given in to the darkness within him. Albus could only hope that the pair’s ending would be happier than his own. 

“Gellert…I do always miss you the most when it snows.” He murmured, then looked back at the Slytherin and Gryffindor skating together on the pond. 

It brought a smile to his face, and, with one last glance, Albus Dumbledore turned back the way he came, disappearing into the snow-laden trees. The Cat would return to Hagrid, but Albus wanted to let it enjoy its time with Draco and Evie for now. He knew as he was sure did the pair, that this peaceful time wouldn’t last for much longer.

_ A great war between good and evil is coming to an end. One way or another, it will impact those two. I will do my best to see that it doesn’t come too close to them, but I fear that it already has. Yes— _ an image of tattooed skin came to mind— _ I’m afraid it has.  _

  
  


**_Draco_ **

 

“I’m cold,” Evie said as they walked back towards Hogwarts. She tucked herself closer to Draco’s side, mittened hand still clasping his. “Let’s get some hot chocolate when we get back to warm up.”

“Actually,” Draco grinned, “I have a better idea.” 

He tried to suppress a grin at Evie’s confusion once they arrived at their destination, a door on the fifth floor next to an odd looking statue of Boris the Bewildered. 

“Harry told me about this. It’s the Prefects’ Bath, isn’t it?” Evie asked.

“It is indeed.” Draco smiled, “I thought that we could warm up in the water.”

“B-but…” Evie stammered face flushing at his insinuation. “We don’t know the password!”

“You may not. But I do. You forget that I happen to be a prefect as well, Evie.” 

Evie’s brows rose. “Really? You don’t act like it.”

He feigned hurt. “What’s that supposed to mean? I am a portrait of good behavior.” 

“If you say so.”

Draco grinned, “One moment please.” Taking hold of the doorknob, he murmured, “Pine fresh.”

There was a click, and then the doorway swung inward. Draco took Evie’s still-gloved hand and led her inside the stone chamber, which was warm and muggy, smelling slightly of soap. Evie let out a breath, a smile spreading over her face like the sun rising.

“It’s so pretty!” She exclaimed, taking in the large, pool-like bathtub, which sunk into the ground and full of steaming water. 

Draco took a glance around the room. He supposed that the stained glass windows and abundance of jewel-studded taps at the far end of the tub were impressive, but after coming here on a fairly regular basis last year after, given the privilege, the magic of the room was lost on him. 

“I suppose.” He shrugged, preferring to watch Evie as she gaped at her surroundings. “Do you want to swim?”

“It is more like a pool than a tub, isn’t it?” She laughed, but then her shoulders slumped slightly. “You should have told me where we were going, Draco. I don’t have my swimsuit with me.” 

“Oh please.” He smirked at her. “We don’t need those.”

“I’m not swimming naked!” Evie squawked, her face went bright red.

Draco huffed a laugh, then removed his jacket and threw it on one of the wooden benches that lined the right side of the room. “I’m not talking about swimming naked. Just wear your underwear.”

“I-oh.” She fell silent. 

“Here,” He slipped off his shoes and made quick work of his socks. “I’ll go first and show you how easy it is. Is that alright?”

Evie was looking away, but she nodded. “That’s fine. I just don’t know if I want to do that.”

“That’s fine. Do whatever you’re comfortable with.” Draco smiled. “Then you can just enjoy the sight of me swimming.” He tugged his sweater off his head and threw it in the pile of his clothes on the bench.

He glanced up to see Evie deep in thought, her lower lip caught between her teeth. She seemed to come to a decision and straightened her shoulders. 

“I’m cold,” Evie announced. “That’s why I’m doing this. But you have to promise to stay on the other side of the pool!”

Draco quirked a brow. “Alright. You have my word.” 

Draco was in the midst of shucking off his oxford buttondown, and he grinned when he noticed Evie looking anywhere but his bare torso. 

“You’re allowed to look, you know.” He teased.

“I know that.” She was flushed pink. 

“Mhmm.” Draco hummed, stepping out of his pants and placing them on the bench. He was wearing black boxer briefs that hit about mid-thigh. That wasn’t what made Draco feel self-conscious, however. What did make him feel that way was the fact that his Dark Mark was clearly visible. Even if Evie wasn’t bothered by it, he still was. 

Speaking of Evie, she glanced at him quickly before saying, “I’m going to change in one of the bathroom stalls over there.” She motioned to the stalls that took up most of the left wall. 

Draco smiled, slipping into the warm water. “Alright. Take your time.” 

 

**_Evie_ **

 

_ Ohmygosh Ohmygosh Ohmygosh.  _ Evie was unsure if she was able to function currently. She was in the bathroom, removing her clothing and trying not to panic. She had never seen Draco shirtless before. The sight of his bare and slim torso had made her want to curl up and die. Not that it wasn’t nice to look at—it was—but she hadn’t been able to handle the emotions that surged up within her at the sight of him that way. And she knew that Draco was aware of precisely how she was feeling. That smug bastard. He knew exactly what he was doing when he brought her here. 

_ What I wouldn’t give to be able to talk to Hermione right now.  _ Evie thought desperately. She glanced down at her underwear. Nothing fancy or sexy. Just plain black bottoms and a black bra. Thank goodness she had been meticulous in her shaving the other day, or she might have had more problems. Looking herself over one last time, Evie cursed her sweaty palms.  _ I want to swim with him. I’m just… shy. Painfully so.  _

Gathering her clothes in her arms, Evie slipped from the bathroom, purposefully not looking in Draco’s direction as she walked over to where he had placed his clothes on one of the benches. She was hesitant to put them down since they were her only protection. Once she put them down, Draco would see her. All of her (mostly). Her stretch marks from her growth spurt back when she was a first year, the constellation of moles on her back… and the scars. 

She had almost forgotten about those. Evie really didn’t give much thought to them. Now, she did. They were scattered across her back and stomach. Small laceration wounds that hadn’t faded over the years. The Death Eaters who had nearly beaten her to death had first cast a number of flesh cutting spells to keep her down. 

“Evie?” 

Draco. His voice came from close behind her, and Evie startled slightly. She hadn’t heard him approaching. Still holding her bundle of clothes against her chest, Evie replied, “Yeah?”

“Can I touch you?”

She nodded. 

Hesitant, gentle fingertips grazed over her back. First her shoulders, then down her spine. Evie sucked in a breath. She could feel Draco tracing the raised lines of her scars. Neither of them dared breathe. Finally, he spoke.

“How did you get these?” 

She swallowed hard. “How do you think?”

His hand stopped its movements, and instead, Draco laid his palm flat against the expanse of her lower back. His forehead touched her right shoulder, and Evie could feel his breathing harsh and heavy against her shoulder blade. 

“I’m not going to let anything like this happen to you again,” Draco said, voice deathly serious. “Not Pansy or Bellatrix or any other Death Eaters. Not even fucking Voldemort himself. Do you understand? I’ll die before I let them hurt you.” 

Evie dropped her clothes and reached up to stroke his hair with a hand. “I know. It’s the same for me too, you know.”

“I know.” 

Evie pulled away from him slowly. “Let’s swim, okay?”

Draco’s expression remained serious, but he nodded. Stepping into the water, Evie let out a hum of contentment. It was so warm, soothing her cold and aching muscles. She ducked her head underneath, and when she came up, she saw Draco doing the same. His hair was almost spiky when wet. She made to swim over to him, but he backed away, sitting on the seat-like shelf under the water. It lapped at his shoulders. 

“Not so fast.” His eyes glinted mischievously. “You said that we have to stay on the opposite side of the pool. And I’m a man of my word.” 

“I didn’t say that specifically.” Evie shot back, stepping closer towards him. “I said that you had to stay on your side of the pool. I didn’t say that I did.” 

“Trickster.”

She shrugged. “You’re the Slytherin. You should have caught that.” 

“Are you sure you weren’t missorted?” Draco asked. Evie was near to him, and he made to stand, but she placed her hand on his chest and pushed him back down. 

“I said to stay.” She murmured. “Don’t move.”

She watched Draco swallow hard, and go still. Evie felt desire thrum through her veins, heady and thick. Smirking, she moved closer. Draco let out a shaky breath, his confidence suddenly gone. Evie climbed onto his lap, and his hands went immediately to her waist to keep her steady. 

“I said, don’t move.” Evie leaned in and whispered in his ear. 

Draco shuddered. “Bloody hell. One minute you’re scared to take your clothes off in front of me and the next-” He stopped speaking and sucked in a harsh breath when she kissed his neck, moving downwards to his collar bones. 

“Remember. Don’t move.”

Evie sucked hard, and Draco gasped, arms twitching but then falling still. He made a noise deep in his throat. Her hands crept from his shoulders down his chest, feeling the smooth planes of his stomach. Draco rocked forward, head resting on her shoulder as she traced the lines of his hip bones before they disappeared into his boxer briefs. 

Everything was hot. The bath water, Draco’s skin, her skin, the blood that rushed through her veins. Evie wanted... she didn’t know what she wanted. All she knew was that she wanted to be closer to him. To Draco. But she didn’t know how. Draco, apparently, had some ideas. 

“Fuck. Let me touch you.” The words were ragged. 

“Ask nicely.” 

“Please. Let me touch you.” 

Evie looked down at him. Draco’s eyes were dark and filled with desperation. She lost her breath at the sight of them. 

“O-okay.” One look into his eyes had her confidence abandoning her. 

Those words seemed to snap whatever Draco was keeping on himself. Surging upward, he kissed her hard on the mouth, his hands clasping her waist tight enough to leave marks. Evie didn’t mind it though. He usually touched her hesitantly, as if he wasn’t quite sure he was allowed to. 

Draco’s tongue invaded her mouth, licking and lapping. Evie followed his lead, her back arching so that they were chest to chest. Her hands were in his hair, holding it so tight she was practically yanking it. Draco groaned, then twisted and lifted Evie up so that she sat on the edge of the pool with him between her legs. The shock of being mostly out of the warm water sent goosebumps rushing down her skin, but his mouth on hers was so hot. Evie moaned, her toes curling in the water. 

“I thought we were just going swimming.” She murmured. “Why does it always end up like this?”

Draco huffed a laugh against her throat. “You tell me, Marsh.” 

She looked down at him, smiling. “You lifted me out of the pool. I’m cold, Malfoy.” 

“Well, we wouldn’t want that.” 

He lifted her from the ledge and back into the water. Evie ducked underneath the surface, listening to the muffled sound of the water being poured into the pool from the many taps, and released a breath from her nose, watching the bubbles race towards the surface. After a moment, she emerged, blinking water out of her eyes. Draco was watching her with an amused look on his face. 

“Having fun?” 

She nodded, “Let’s try some of the taps! I want to see if there are bubbles.”

“Excuse you, but I am a fearsome Slytherin. I do not take bubble baths.” Draco interjected. 

“You do now!” Evie splashed her way over to the side of the tub covered in taps. “I just need to find which one works…”

“You’re insufferable,” Draco said when she began to fill the tub with frothy bubbles. “I have a reputation, you know.” 

Evie stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. “I know.” 

  
  


**_Draco_ **

 

After spending a leisurely afternoon swimming and trying to kiss Evie as much as she would allow it, Draco climbed from the pool and headed towards the tap that let out towels. Evie had already gotten out a while earlier, complaining that her fingers were pruney. 

She stood now by the bench with their clothes, drying her long hair with a towel. It took a moment, but Draco realized she was wearing his button-down shirt. It was unbuttoned, revealing her stomach and bra, and came down to the middle of her thighs. Something primal lurched in him and he stalked across the wet tiles towards her.

She saw him coming and smiled, but then her eyes widened when she saw the look on his face. Draco grinned wickedly, grabbing the towel from her hands and tossing it aside.

“You’re wearing my shirt.” He breathed, taking a strand of her wet hair between his fingers.  

“Oh! I-I, uh…” Evie wrung her hands together and stammered. “I just sort of put it on. I like the smell of it. But if you want it back…” 

“No, keep it.” Draco grinned, pressing a chaste kiss to her neck.  

“But what will you wear back to the Room of Requirement?” 

“Sweater.” He replied. “And just so you know, please continue to borrow my clothing as much as you like. It looks better on you than it does on me.” 

She flushed. “Okay. Want to get dinner? Swimming always makes me hungry.”

“Let’s get dressed first. The poor professors would die of shock if we walked down there like this.” 

Evie shot him a look that Draco was becoming very familiar with. It was a bored look usually directed at him after he said something cheeky. Evie was ridiculously cute with that look on her face, which was why he loved to tease her.

“Stupid Malfoy.” She muttered, hopping into her jeans. 

He laughed. “The one and only.”

 

**_Evie_ **

 

Evie was wrenched from sleep by a sudden movement at her side. Draco had jumped from bed, jostling her awake. By the time she sat up, he had already disappeared into the bathroom provided by the Room of Requirement. 

“Draco?” She ran after him to the bathroom, only to stop dead in her tracks at the sight of him retching into the toilet. 

“Get out.” He snarled, refusing to face her. “I don’t want you to see this.”

Evie crouched next to him. “I’m not leaving you to face this alone.” 

“I said-- _ get out, Evie.”  _

“Please Draco. Let me stay with you.” She spoke softly, trying not to upset him. Draco said nothing, bowing his head in lieu of a nod. 

Evie moved closer, placing a hand between his shoulder blades, rubbing his back in circles as he vomited. His tense muscles relaxed at her touch, but his hands still clasped the edges of the toilet like a vise. His breath was rasping in and out; the fabric of his shirt was damp with sweat. 

“It was so dark…” Draco whispered, head still bowed. “And then my mark just started  _ burning.  _ And all I could see was you and Bellatrix. She was torturing you, Evie. With the Cruciatus Curse. And all I could do was watch.”

“It was a dream. It’s over now. We’re both safe.” She soothed.

Draco turned his head to look at her, blue-grey eyes haunted. “But once she finds out that we’re together, she’ll come after us. If I don’t protect you, that _ will _ be our future. She’ll kill you.”

“No it won’t.” She replied, voice firm despite the fear growing within her. 

Draco was right. If the two of them weren’t careful, Bellatrix would find out… and it was anyone’s guess what she would do when she did. Evie gathered Draco into her arms, holding him as tightly as he held her, his head buried in the crook of her neck. 

“We can keep this a secret. That way we can be safe.” She said. 

“I just don’t want you to be hurt.” His voice was muffled against her skin. “All I could hear was you screaming. It made me want to die.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” She murmured. Draco shuddered within her embrace, clutching her shoulders. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Evie.” His voice strained and body trembling. 

“I’m here. What do you need?” 

“Don’t let me go.” He whispered, clinging to her as though she was his anchor in the middle of a storm.

She tightened her grip. “Never.”

Draco took a few deep breaths, clearly trying to regain his composure. After a short time passed, he pulled away from her, holding his left arm. “My Mark is still burning. I need the salve that my mother gave me. It eases the pain.”

“On it.”

Crossing the cold stone floor with bare feet, Evie went over to the piano and found the small tin, which Draco had been using as a paperweight for his sheet music. By the time she had gotten it, had emerged from the bathroom and was sitting on their bed, his head lowered once more. 

Evie sat next to him, and when he reached for the tin she placed a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t. Let me take care of you.”

He sighed, rolling up his sleeve. Evie sucked in a harsh breath at the sight of his Mark. It was fiery red around the edges and raised as if it was trying to break away from his skin. 

“It’s because I didn’t want the Mark. It was put on without my full consent. It won’t sink into my skin the way that it does for others.” Draco said. He was looking out the window. 

Evie unscrewed the tin’s cap, dipping her fingers into the cool cream before spreading it across the irritated skin. Draco hissed, then sighed in relief, shoulders relaxing somewhat. 

“Don’t roll your sleeve up yet,” Evie said. “It’ll smear. Here, let me bandage it for you.”

“You don’t have to do this.” 

She kissed his forehead. “I want to do this.”

Using her wand, an old shirt she never wore, and a couple of spells, Evie wrapped Draco’s forearm in the material, sealing it with a spell. 

“There,” She said, sitting back on the bed after placing her wand on top of the piano by the tin of salve. “That should do it.” 

“Thank you.” Draco murmured, rolling down his sleeve. 

They climbed back into bed, but Evie knew that sleep would not come easily to Draco. He lay on his side at the edge of the bed. There existed a space between them that hadn’t before. Evie frowned. 

“Draco?” She was unsure of what to say. 

“I just don’t want to wake you if I have another nightmare.” He replied, still not facing her. 

Evie scooted over to him, wrapping her arms around him and holding him close so that his back pressed to her chest. They lay like two spoons nestled together in a drawer, the dark pressing in about them.

“Don’t worry about that.” She whispered, touching her forehead to his shoulder. “I’ll be here. I want to be with you.”

To get his mind off of the dark thoughts that were no doubt swirling around in his head, Evie began to talk. 

“You know, I’ve always wanted to live in a little cottage in the country by the sea. With you. Just the two of us. I could work on my potions and paintings, and you could play the piano. It would be so peaceful. It’s my dream, I think.”

Draco rolled over to face her. “Would Cat live with us?”

“Of course. She can’t stay with Hagrid forever.” 

“I can’t even imagine that,” Draco confessed, taking one of her hands and holding it between two of his own. “Peace like that seems so far away to me. Like a distant dream.”

“You don’t have to. Someday it will be our reality. You have my word, Draco.” She murmured, and his hold on her hand tightened. 

“I remember the first time you called me by my name. Draco, that is. You used to always call me Malfoy, remember?” He smiled fondly. “We were both late to Potions class. You had a smudge of ink on your cheek.” 

“The first time you called me Evie we were fighting by the Shrieking Shack,” Evie replied. “We always used to fight, back then.” 

“We did. And I’m sorry for that. For all the times I hurt you.” His face hardened. “I still worry that this is all a dream. That I’ll wake up and we’ll still be enemies.” 

“Me too.” She whispered. “But we found our way to each other. I’d like to think that, even if things were different, that wouldn’t have changed. That I would still always find you.”

“You would. You’re so stubborn.” Draco snorted, and Evie poked him in the side. Then, a realization dawned on her. 

“Oh!” Evie sat up turning to look at Draco. “Happy New Year! I mean, it must be past midnight by now.” 

Draco leaned over to the bedside table and checked his watch. “It is exactly one am. So you would be correct. Any resolutions?”

Evie pretended to think it over. “I’ve got one.”

He looked at her with a smile. “And what’s that?”  
“To be by your side.” 

“Cheesy.” Draco grinned. “But that’s fine by me. You know what?”

“What?”

“I’ll make that mine too.” 

He pulled her back down onto him and Evie let out a squeal as he kissed her neck. She snuggled into his side, yanking the blankets up over them. There, in the dark beneath the covers, the two savored the peace they had. They both knew that it wouldn’t last much longer. And sadly, they were right. 


	17. Patronus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! 
> 
> As always I am grateful for your patience and support! Your positive comments are very kind and always are so nice to see, particularly when I'm feeling down. I know some of you are worried that I am not going to finish this fic, however, I plan to and have stated so in previous chapters! The updates are not going to be regular, but I'm going to try and update again in a week or so. 
> 
> College is crazy as always and I'm always sleeping in my free time but BTS's new comeback trailer breathed life into my exhausted body and gave me the strength to want to update! You should check out "Map of the Soul: Persona" on Youtube! It's a slammer. 
> 
> As always, please enjoy~

**_Evie_ **

 

Draco and Evie spent their final breakfast of winter break in silence, picking at their food. Their hands were tightly clasped beneath the table, each savoring the touch of the other. Evie wondered when the next time they would be able to be together like this, out in public without the fear of Pansy or Bellatrix breathing down their necks, would be. She had no idea. 

“I’m scared.” She whispered to Draco as they sat high in the astronomy tower, watching the road for the signs of the thestral drawn carriages. 

“Scared of what?”

“The danger of what will happen if we aren't able to keep this a secret. And even if we do, what if that causes us to grow apart?” Evie said. 

Draco considered her remark for a moment before turning and placing his hands on her shoulders. Evie looked at him. His expression was one of determination, his brow slightly furrowed and blue-grey eyes steely. 

“I won’t let anything bad happen to you. Do you understand? I’ll stay close to Pansy, only so that I can make sure she isn’t going to hurt you. I won’t let her near you, Evie.” Draco said. 

Evie swallowed hard. “I’ll miss this. Being able to be together so often.”

His expression softened, and he dropped his hands. “We can still meet up in secret, but I know it won’t be the same. And I’ll send you notes as well.”

“I’d like that.” A desire suddenly swelled up within her, one so strong that she could not subdue it. Abandoning her usual shyness, Evie said in a rush, “Please. Leave a mark on my neck, one more time.”

Draco’s eyes widened. 

Evie flushed but held his gaze. “I want something to remember you by.”

He let out a hoarse laugh. “There are other things you could ask for, you know.”

“Do you not want to-”

She was cut off almost immediately. “No. I want to.” Draco inhaled deeply. “Where would you like it?”

Without a word, Evie reached to the top of her uniform button-down shirt, undoing the top few buttons before sliding the material off her shoulder, along with the strap of her bra. Draco’s eyes tracked the movements, his gaze wolfish. He kept himself very still, almost as though he was afraid she would run away if he moved suddenly. Evie tapped the patch of skin just below her left collarbone. 

“Here.” 

Draco swallowed, then took hold of her shoulders once more and lowered his head to her neck. Evie shuddered as he trailed his lips downward from the spot below her ear all the way to the place she had indicated, leaving a scorching sensation in his wake. 

Her hands shot out to hold onto his shoulders when he sucked hard, and a strangled noise worked its way up her throat. Evie swallowed it down, embarrassed. Why she did not know. What was with them and kissing each other’s necks? She was unsure. 

Draco kissed the tender spot once, then pulled away. Evie pulled her strap and shirt up, curling into his side. The first of the carriages had appeared in the distance, hazy on the horizon. Evie sighed. 

“I don’t want to go.” She whispered. 

“Then stay, just a bit longer.” Was his reply. 

So she wrapped her arms around him and stayed. 

 

* * *

 

The next month or so passed in a blur. While it was hard not to be able to be with Draco in public, the two found ways around the situation. They passed notes constantly, mostly stupid things about their days, but sometimes to set up a time to meet. They used the Room of Requirement the most, stealing precious hours before Draco’s friends could grow suspicious of his prolonged absence and he would have to return to them.

Draco also had picked up the bad habit of hiding behind statues that he knew Evie was going to pass by and pulling her to him when she walked past. They would hold each other in the darkened places, kissing feverishly while other Hogwarts students passed by unaware. There was something about that which made the two of them bolder. It was an act of defiance, in a way. 

Luna, Ginny, and Hermione knew what was going on with Draco and Evie, which meant that Evie had to put up with the latter two’s constant teasing about the matter. Hermione was a great help because she helped Evie to get Harry to lend her the Marauder’s Map on more than one occasion so that she could sneak to the Room of Requirement to meet with Draco after curfew. The would go there to study, but most nights would end up lying in bed, murmuring plans for the future to each other. The idea of the cottage seemed to have stuck with Draco, and he spoke of it often to Evie. They both craved peace and found solace in the dream of a little house by the sea. 

They were still partners in Potions, and since Pansy wasn’t in that class they had less of an act to keep up. Evie almost regretted this, because Draco was positively beastly during Potions. He would stand close to her when he talked, eyes hooded and tracking her every move. It was hard to focus with his gaze on her. Draco loved that it flustered her so much, and so it only encouraged him. 

It was after one of these such classes that he pulled her into an alcove hidden by a tapestry of dancing fauns. How he knew that little space was there, Evie didn’t know. She had opened her mouth to protest when Draco kissed her deeply. When they separated, he leaned his forehead against hers, taking her hands in his. 

“I crave your touch when you’re not near me. To see you, but not be able to touch you, or even talk to you...” He sighed, warm breath tickling the skin of her neck. “It’s an ache I can hardly stand.”

Evie pulled away from him, smiling slightly. “We should be apart more often if it makes you so poetic.”

Color appeared high on Draco’s pale cheeks and he muttered, “I’m not being poetic. I’m just telling you that. And here, this is for you.” 

He pressed a slip of paper into her hand. “Open it once I’ve gone.” 

With that, he kissed her cheek and ducked out from behind the tapestry, leaving Evie breathing hard in the dark. 

Stepping out as well, Evie unfolded the note. _ I need your help. Come to the Room of Requirement after dinner.  _ The note read, and Evie frowned. She wondered what Draco needed assistance with. It wasn’t anything serious, or he would have told her just now. Evie pondered what he could possibly need throughout the rest of the day and into dinner.

“Alright, what’s up with you?” Ginny poked her from across the table. “You haven’t spoken much all day.” 

“Ginny’s right,” Hermione added. “Is everything okay?” 

It was just the three of them eating together. The boys were out playing Quidditch, and their pick up game had run late. Evie didn’t envy them. It was bitterly cold outside, and to be up on a broom being lashed by the winter wind? She was happy indoors. It was for this reason that Ginny had stayed inside as well, since the game wasn’t official, just a scrimmage between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. 

“Sorry Gin. Sorry, Mione.” She apologized. “I just have been wondering about something.” 

“Is it about your loverboy’s note?” The redhead teased. “You’ve been folding and unfolding that thing constantly.”

“Oh. I hadn’t realized.” Evie said sheepishly. “And yes, it is about that. Draco says he needs my help with something, but I can’t think of what.” 

“That’s what you’ve been worrying about?” Ginny exclaimed. “Honestly, Evie, that’s nothing. If the note had said, ‘I have this weird rash on my neck and I think your latest hickey caused it’,  _ then  _ I would tell you to be concerned. He probably just wants to make out.” 

Despite having filled her friends in on much of what had occurred over the past few months, Evie blushed. 

Ginny looked smug. “I knew it.” 

“That does make sense.” 

It did, given that the past few times the two of them had met up to “study” in the back corners of the library, Draco hadn’t been exactly focused. Evie wasn’t any better. 

“Even if it isn’t  _ that, _ ” Hermione shot Ginny a pointed look, “I highly doubt that the matter is urgent. Ron always says he needs my help with the dumbest things.”

“Speaking of my idiot brother, how are things going between you two?” Ginny swiveled on Hermione, and Evie let out a breath. She was off the hot seat. For now, anyway. 

It appeared that Hermione’s normal, sensible composure had been compromised. “W-what do you mean? Ron and I are friends. And besides, what about you and Harry, hm? I’ve seen you two sneaking off through the portrait hole on more than one occasion.”

“That’s--that’s Quidditch stuff!” Ginny’s face had become as read as her hair. 

Evie watched them, a smile on her face. Feeling eyes on her, she glanced across the room to see Draco watching her. After making sure only he was looking at her, Evie gave him a little wave. The Slytherin boy’s expression softened considerably, and he inclined his head towards the door. The signal was clear.  _ Let’s get out of here.  _ As always, Evie felt a thrill go through her. There was something deliciously exciting about their clandestine meetings, even if she sometimes grew tired of having to hide their feelings. 

Rising from her seat, she gave her friends a smile. “You two have fun! I’m off to… well…”

“We know.” Ginny deadpanned, but she was grinning. “You enjoy yourself. But not too much. The last thing we need is miniature Malfoys running around this place.”

“Merlin!” Evie said, laughing. “You speak to your mother with that mouth?”

Her red-haired friend chuckled. “Believe me, my mother has said much worse.”

 

 

**_Draco_ **

 

When Evie entered the Room of Requirement, Draco felt as though he had been underwater for the past few hours since being with her, and now he could finally breathe. He didn’t tell her this, however, not after her teasing about his statements that morning. Salazar, he was becoming a bloody sap for her. 

“You drove me crazy with this,” Evie said by way of greeting, holding up the note. “I spent all day wondering what you could possibly need help with.”

He grinned. “That was part of the point. To keep you thinking of me.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re insufferable.” 

Draco pulled her to him. “Please. I’m a Slytherin. It’s how I’m wired.” 

“Sure. But really, how can I help?”

He stiffened slightly. This was the hard part. Draco wanted Evie to teach him how to form a full Patronus. He had never been able to, and with Bellatrix still on the loose… he did not want to have a single weakness. One weakness could cost him everything. But asking for help was something that Draco didn’t like to do. He preferred to think of himself as independent--prided himself in it, actually--and having to ask Evie for assistance was uncomfortable to say the least. He was still getting used to the idea that she was always by his side, wanting to help him in any way she could.

Sucking in a deep breath, Draco said hurriedly, “Please teach me how to create a fully fledged Patronus.” 

Evie’s brows rose. “You aren’t able to?”

He looked away, tensing, “I thought that it was common knowledge.” 

She shook her head. “No. I had no idea. But, of course, I’d love to help you.” 

Draco felt some of the tension drain from him, but not by much. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Evie replied, then muttered, “Though you didn’t have to make such a deal out of it. You could have just told me earlier, you git.”

Draco grinned. “But what would have been the fun in that?”

Evie let out a long sigh. “Alright alright. Let me show you how it’s done.” 

The Room looked different today, like how it had looked last year when Draco had discovered Potter and Dumbledore’s Army using it for a practice room. There was no furniture, no bed or piano. He had to admit the room was smart. Evie and Draco were… easily distracted. Speaking of Evie, she had now taken up a spot in the center of the room. Raising her wand, she closed her eyes. Draco watched in interest. He had seen her and Potter cast Patronus spells earlier in the year, but he hadn’t bothered paying attention then. It was too embarrassing to watch, knowing that he couldn’t cast the spell, despite his Pureblood status.

“Draco?” Evie called to him, breaking him from his thoughts. Her eyes were open now and looking at him. “Everything alright?”

“Yes.” He waved away her concern, “Just reminiscing about what an ass I was at the beginning of this year.” 

She laughed, and he wished that he could bottle the sound. “I can’t argue with that.” 

“Yeah yeah.” Draco scoffed. “Weren’t you going to show me how it’s done?”

Evie stifled a grin. “Yes, before you stopped paying attention.” 

“Just get on with it. I’m starting to think that you’ve forgotten how to cast the spell.”

“You wish.” Was her reply, and then she raised her wand and called out, “ _ Expecto Patronum!”  _

Draco watched in amazement as strands white light emanated from the tip of Evie’s wand. The wove together in the air, forming a glowing mass before morphing into the shape of a fox. The creature shook itself slightly before it pranced around the room, brushing by Draco running to Evie and vanishing into a burst of fractured light at her side. She grinned at Draco, then pocketed her wand with a flourish. 

Draco felt his gut twist. Not only could she create a fully fledged Patronus, but she could call it back to her side. He noticed without looking towards her that Evie was watching him carefully. He had learned long ago what the weight of her eyes on him felt like. He glanced at her. She had a pensive look on her face.

“I’m worried for you.” Evie said, “Because I find that the key to forming a Patronus is not to overthink it. It’s formed based on your happiest memories, things that bring joy to you. And I have a feeling that you’re going to overthink it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Draco snorted. “I can do this.” 

He closed his eyes and raised his wand as Evie had done, wracking his brain for a happy memory. There weren’t many in recent years, aside from those he shared with Evie. There was his sixth birthday. Draco felt the bittersweet ache of nostalgia rise in him. His mother had made him a black forest cake, covered in many candles. His father had been away on business, so it had been just the two of them. Unsurprisingly, it had made the night more warm and relaxed. He remembered the touch of her hands on his shoulders...the soft glow of the candles… the bittersweet taste of dark chocolate. 

Draco readied himself. “ _ Expecto-” _

His mother. Trapped with Bellatrix. Bellatrix, who knew how to control dementors. He had to learn this spell. He couldn’t mess it up. 

\-- _ Patronum!”  _

The other half of the spell came out raggedly. Draco watched as his wand did as it often did when he attempted this spell; it glowed brightly at the end before going cold in his hand once more. He groaned in frustration. He needed to learn this spell. How could he expect to protect Evie and his mother from Bellatrix without it?

Evie. He felt the comforting weight of her hand slipping into his, drawing him back to the present. 

“You started well.” She said, “But you tensed up. Why?”

Draco sighed. “I don’t know.” 

Her expression was one of suspicion, but Draco refused to cave and tell her the real reason for why he couldn’t seem to relax. He didn’t want Evie to know the hold that Bellatrix had over him. The depth of how far her hooks were laid into him. She knew about the nightmares, yes, but not about how he spent nearly every waking minute agonizing over the fact that he feared he would not be enough to protect Evie. That he would fail her. Like how he had failed his mother. 

She couldn’t know how broken he was. So he did what he did best. He lied. 

“I’m fine, Evie. Let’s try again.” 

 

**_Evie_ **

 

Evie resisted the urge to shake Draco. She had lost count of what attempt this was. At least an hour had passed. She could pinpoint now, nearly to the millisecond, when Draco tensed up. She had a feeling why, but he was shutting her out. Evie ground her teeth in frustration as he yet again failed to produce a full Patronus. It wasn’t that he wasn’t capable of it-- he was-- it was merely that he wasn’t telling her what he needed help with. 

“Dammit,” Draco growled, his patience clearly wearing thin. 

“You know, I don’t even have to be here,” Evie said. He turned to look at her, brow furrowed. 

“What?”

“I said,” She drew near to him. “I don’t have to be here. Frankly, I don’t know why you even asked for my help, since you clearly aren’t willing to take it.”

“You’re being ridiculous.” He snapped, pushing white-blonde hair out of his eyes and raising his wand once more.

“No.” Evie grabbed Draco’s wand from his hand before he could utter the spell again. “I’m not.”

“What the hell, Marsh?” 

That stung. Evie’s brows rose. “Oh, so we’re back to surnames now, Malfoy? I thought we were past that, especially since earlier you were reflecting on how much of an ass you were first semester.”

Draco’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you being like this?”

“Like what? Honest?” Evie asked, incredulous. “Because I’m sick of watching you fail. Especially when I know that you have it in you to cast this spell. But there’s something that stopping you, and you won’t tell me what it is.”

“I’m not-”

“Don’t lie to me.” She cut him off, crossing her arms. “You know this spell, Draco. You know how to do this but you’re still not able to produce a Patronus. Why is that? I thought you trusted me. Why are you shutting me out?” 

“Because of...I just…ugh! Just drop this will you?” Draco exclaimed, his jaw clenched shut. He turned from her, yanking a hair through his hair.  

“Because of what? Why can’t you tell me?”

He spun on her, blue-grey eyes steely. “What happened to ‘don’t force yourself to open up’ and ‘I’ll always wait until you’re ready’?” 

Evie took a step back, guilt rising like bile in the back of her throat. She had said those things, and yet now here she was, trying to pry his secrets out of him. She bit her lip.  _ I’m such a hypocrite.  _ She backed away from him further. 

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” 

How could she have not seen how hard he had been struggling with each time he cast the spell? Who knew how many horrific memories he had to drag upwards to find at least one good one?  _ I should have comforted him and supported him. Instead, I was nothing much impatient and unempathetic. I’m a fool.  _

Evie felt tears sting at her eyes, but she blinked rapidly. The last thing she wanted was for Draco to beat himself up for thinking he made her cry. This was all her fault anyway.

“I should go,” Evie muttered, passing Draco his wand and turning on her heel. 

“Really? You’re walking away?” The venom in his voice was a callback to the cruelty he had shown her all those months ago when they had first met. Evie stilled, feeling her hackles rise at the sound. Draco continued, “I thought you were a Gryffindor. Stop being such a coward.”

“Coward?” She turned on him. Draco’s expression was shuttered. It only served to fuel the anger burning in her chest. “I’m a coward? There’s nothing that I can do to help you! You need to stop thinking so hard about this! Just cast the spell Draco. Let everything else go and cast the damn spell.” 

“It’s not that easy.” 

“Is it?” 

Their gazes clashed. His eyes were hard and cold, like a star high above that she couldn’t hope to reach. Evie didn’t care. She would build a ladder to the heavens and pull him down to earth--to her. She would make him see what she saw. That he was capable of doing this. He just needed to let go. 

 

**_Draco_ **

 

Draco watched as Evie’s expression hardened into one of determination. How many times had he seen this? Too many to count. It left him in awe of her. He was helpless now and could do nothing but watch as she strode towards him, taking his face in her hands. 

“You told me not to think, once. Do you remember? That night at the Yule Ball. I trusted you then. Trust me now.” She said. “Don’t think. Let everything go. I know that you have a million things on your mind and it’s hard to forget that, but trust me and please try to. Please.” 

“I can’t, Evie.” Draco felt the fight drain out of him in a rush, leaving him hollow and numb. “I’ve been trying for the past hour to let go. But every good memory I drag up comes with a host of bad ones. And all I can think of is what will happen if I can’t learn this spell. If I can’t be good enough.”

“So many ‘if’s’.” Evie murmured, tracing his cheekbones with her thumbs. Draco leaned into her touch, letting it steady him. “Let those go. Focus on what is at hand.”

“But I--” 

“Let go.” She whispered, kissing his forehead. “And try again. I won’t leave your side.” 

Draco nodded, raising his wand once more. Evie released his face and took his other hand, holding it tightly. He anchored himself with that hand. 

This time, instead of thinking of his family, Draco thought of his memories with Evie. There were so many that he had tucked away in his heart where none of the horrible ones could taint them. Her hair in the morning… the scent of her Amortentia potion... the gentleness of her smile… Draco closed his eyes. 

“ _ Expecto Patronum.”  _

His eyes were still shut, savoring the warm memories, when Evie let out an awestruck gasp. Draco opened his eyes to see the light strands at the end of his wand morphing into another shape. It grew bigger and bigger before them until a glimmering and translucent dragon hovered before them. The creature regarded the two of them with ancient eyes, before spiraling upwards toward the vaulted ceiling and disappearing with a flash. Tiny sparkles of light rained down on them, alighting on Evie’s hair and eyelashes. She was glowing.

“Draco…” She breathed, turning to look at him, her smile wide. “The Dragon. Your Patronus. It was beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like it.” 

“It’s fitting, isn’t it? Since I loved dragons so much as a kid.” Draco grinned. 

Evie laughed, “Please. You still love them. We spent most of Christmas break reading the dragon book your mother gave you.” 

“I suppose.” He couldn’t help chucking as well. Then, “Do you want to know what memories I thought of before I cast the spell?” 

“Do you want to tell me?” Her response was careful. 

Draco smiled softly, brushing a stray sparkle of light off Evie’s cheekbone. “Of course. Because they were all about you.” 

She flushed pink, her grip on his hand tightening. To his surprise, Evie laughed once more, her eyes shining. “I was right. You are becoming more poetic.”

“Please. I am not.” Draco rolled his eyes. “I’m Draco fucking Malfoy. I’m a cold-hearted Serpent.” 

“Maybe, but you shed your scales with me.” Evie teased, poking him.

“Oh shut up, idiot.” He laughed and kissed her. 


	18. Exposed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> Honestly, I'm as shocked as ya'll probably are that I got this chapter up so quickly... it was a tough one to write! (It's also a looongggg boi so have fun ahah). 
> 
> The reason this chapter was hard to write was because there is SEX in this chapter! I wanted to give a warning to whoever might not want to read that! It's at the end, so just a heads up! To the rest of ya'll-- it's about time, yeah? ;) 
> 
> Can you all believe that there are only two more chapters in this story? They're gonna be long bois so they make take more time to write... but I've got them all planned out. 
> 
> Anyways, as always, enjoy~~~

**_Evie_ **

It was the day of the Quidditch match between Slytherin and Gryffindor. The March day was clear but still bitterly cold, thanks to a strong wind that had been blowing nonstop for the past few days. Evie cursed it as she walked towards her last class of the day, hurrying across a courtyard for the warmth of the indoors. The sun was shining, but it hadn’t done her much good. Her teeth were still chattering. The moment Evie stepped inside, a hand clamped down on her shoulder. She let out a yelp of surprise, then noticed the smell of pine lingering in the air and sighed. 

“Draco,” She groaned turning on the grinning Slytherin. “You know that I scare easily. Do you want everyone to know that we’re here?” 

She glanced down the hallway, but it was empty. The glass windows that lined it caused the space to be filled with the warm golden light of the sun. Evie could see the dust motes spiraling through the air around her and Draco. It looked almost like snow. 

Draco was dressed in his Quidditch uniform, the leather brown braces tight on his wrists and calves, green cloak swirling about him. Evie liked the color on him. It brought out the creamy paleness of his skin, the silver specks in his eyes. She pushed a piece of hair back from his forehead. He had slicked his hair back today so that it wouldn’t get in his face during the match, but Evie knew him well enough to know that his hair would be a mess after the game. She smiled fondly. Draco grinned at her appreciative gaze but was smart enough not to comment on it. 

“It’s almost time for the Quidditch Match. No one’s going to be hanging around here. Other than us of course.” Draco shrugged, then moved closer to Evie, settling strong hands on her waist and steering her gently towards the wall behind them. 

“Shouldn’t you be with your team, then? You use the hour before the game to practice. And besides, I have class.” Evie said absently, smoothing down his shirt collar. 

“They can wait. And you can just skip.” Draco murmured, leaning forward to nuzzle her neck, and Evie laughed. 

“I can’t skip class every time you want to see me.” She protested, pushing Draco gently away. There was a slight pout to his lips as she did, and her heart melted.

“But I haven’t seen you much lately. I miss you.” He replied. “It’s hard to find times to meet these days. We’re both so busy.” 

Evie felt herself tense. She had been wanting to ask Draco if they could change their routine. She had talked with Hermione, Ginny, and Luna about it and the four of them had agreed that it wouldn’t be that much of an issue if Draco and Evie went public with their relationship. Yes, there was the problem of Pansy, but she wasn’t as much of a threat now. 

They had learned a few weeks ago that Bellatrix had fled Malfoy Manor after a successful raid by the Ministry of Magic. She was on the run, being hunted by Draco’s mother was under protective custody, and with Bellatrix on the run, Pansy had little chance of getting in touch with her. And even if she did, she had bigger problems to worry about than her rebellious nephew. Pansy’s main source of leverage was null and void at this point. The war was winding down. There wasn’t anything to be afraid of. 

“Evie?” Draco’s voice broke her from her thoughts. “What is it?” 

“I was thinking… maybe we could give up the act. You know… of not liking each other. What if we came out in public as a couple?” Evie asked, biting her lip.

It was the wrong thing to say. Draco looked astonished and mildly concerned. He stepped away from her.

“What?”

“You heard me.” She was more uncertain now. “Why can’t we just be together like a normal couple? There isn’t a reason we shouldn’t be.”

Draco’s expression hardened. “I, for one, can think of a number of reasons. My aunt and Pansy for one thing, not to mention how my house would react if I announced I was dating a Gryffindor.” 

Evie bristled. Draco’s reasoning harkened back to his character first semester, and it caused her hackles to rise. “So you’re ashamed then? Ashamed of having become entangled with a Gryffindor you used to hate?” 

It was a low blow, and both of them knew it, but she didn’t want to back down. 

“This isn’t about me being ashamed of you, and you know that,” Draco replied, brow furrowing. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“I know--it’s not about that.” Evie shot back. “It’s because you’re afraid.”

“Don’t say that like it’s such a bad thing. Fear and caution keep us--you--safe.” He snapped, leveling her with a pointed look. “You know why we can’t expose this. Dammit, Evie, I thought you were on board with keeping our relationship a secret.”

She floundered for a moment. He had a point. She had been, at first. “I was. But things are changing. This war is almost over. Bellatrix is on the run and away from your mother. There’s no need for us to worry! We’re safe here.”

“The fact that she’s on the run only makes her more dangerous,” Draco replied. “A beast always fights its hardest and most reckless when cornered. She was crazy before but now she’s even more unpredictable.”

“Hogwarts is safe!”

“It is not, Evie!” He yanked a hand through his hair. “Did you forget that Pansy cast the Cruciatus curse on you?”

“Of course not! But she wouldn’t try that again, not with you by my side.” 

“You’re not being realistic. It’s safest for this to remain a secret.”

“What if I don’t care about safe anymore? What if I just want to be with you?” Evie’s exclaimed.

“You _ are _ with me.” He said, exasperated.

She grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to look at her. “But not really. Not like this. Hiding and sneaking about. We shouldn’t be the ones who have to hide. Pansy should! I can’t keep stealing moments with you-- I want to be by your side. 

“Stop. You’re just making this harder for me. I want that. You know I do. But we-we can’t.”

“Why? Why not?”

“I just… we just can’t.” He groaned. “You’re being impossible. I have to go.” 

“You’re walking away from this?” She cried out. 

“No.” Draco snapped. “We’ll finish this later. But I have my Quidditch match now.” 

“Fine. Leave. I don’t care.” Evie crossed her arms, fuming. 

“I am. But first,” Draco yanked his scarf off from around his neck and threw it at her. Evie caught it. “Take that.”

“Why would I wear it?” She watched with some regret as he stiffened. “I’d hate to _ expose  _ you.” 

“I don’t care if you wear it or not. But I thought you wanted to go public or whatever, idiot. This is the best I can do for now.” 

Draco stalked towards her, and Evie felt her heart rate speed up in spite of herself. She glared up at him. Draco wore an expression of cool indifference, but she could see the flutter of his pulse on his neck. He leaned in close, breath fanning over her cheek and ear. Evie shuddered.

“Don’t take your eyes off me,” Draco said, before turning and walking down the hall.

Evie leaned back against the wall, holding the warm woolen scarf up to her nose and inhaling Draco’s scent. Pine and green apple. She sighed, a smile playing on her lips as she watched him stomp away. 

_ “Don’t take your eyes off of me.” As if there was a chance I would. _

 

* * *

 

“Is that what I think it is?” Hermione exclaimed an hour or so later as she and Evie climbed the Quidditch field stands. 

Evie tugged self consciously at the green and black scarf around her neck. “Is it noticeable?”

“What the fact that you’re wearing our rival house’s colors or that your scarf belongs to Draco Malfoy?” Her friend snorted.

“Both?” 

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Hey, Marsh! What’s with the scarf?” Called Seamus, when they reached the Gryffindor section, and Evie cringed slightly. 

Things had been… awkward between her and Dean after she had left him at the Yule Ball. She had apologized profusely the morning after, and Dean had handled it well. It must not have been that much of a disappointment, considering that he and Seamus started going out only a few months later. Still, she couldn’t help but feel some guilt for her behavior. And she had a feeling that Seamus resented her slightly for ditching his boyfriend at the Yule Ball. She couldn’t blame him. It hadn’t been one of her best moments.

“Seamus.” His boyfriend chided, then smiled at Evie. “Don’t mind him.” 

She sent Dean a grateful look. 

“But really, Evie” Lavender Brown piped up from a few rows up. “Why are you wearing Slytherin colors? Is there something that you want to share with us?”

“Since when did my business become House business?” Evie muttered, and Hermione chuckled. Evie glanced at Lavender and called, “Sorry, but it’s none of your concern!”

“So are you two going aren’t going to give up the sneaking around yet?” Hermione asked as they took their places in the front row of the stands. 

Evie sighed. “He doesn’t want to. He says it’s because of the danger but… I wonder if it’s something else. He wouldn’t explain himself fully.” 

“I see,” Hermione replied. “Hang in there. Knowing him, he’ll come around. He always does when it comes to you. You’re the thorn in his side.” 

Evie frowned. “Isn’t that a bad thing?”

“Not always.” Her friend smiled, then, “Ah, here comes the Gryffindor team. I really hope that Ron doesn’t get so nervous this match. He really is good at Quidditch, he just psyches himself out.” 

As always, Evie spent the game trying to watch Gryffindor’s team but kept finding her gaze drawn to Draco. He was playing particularly scrappy this match, bumping into Harry and other players more than was necessary. 

“You clearly got under his skin,” Hermione said, impressed, after Draco nearly knocked Harry from his broom. “He’s ruthless.” 

“I know.” Evie breathed. 

She wondered if it was bad that she was incredibly attracted to the way that Draco was playing. He was letting himself loose control--to a certain degree--and it made her heart race. He always played in a reckless way in Quidditch, but this was different. He wasn’t being brutal or cruel, just… ruthless. 

While Draco was on the top of his game, the rest of the Slytherin team was struggling. Gryffindor was scoring point after point on their Keeper. Their chances of winning were slim, but Draco didn’t seem to notice. It seemed that all he was focused on was the Snitch. Evie watched with no small amount of pride as he whipped by Harry and caught the golden orb, nearly falling off his broom (again) to reach it.

The crowd went wild. The game was over. Evie watched Draco as he sat straight and tall on his broom. He was so far from her reach in this moment, in more ways than one.  _ I just want my feelings to reach you. I want to be with you. I’m proud to stand by your side-- don’t you see that?  _ Her heart ached.  _ See yourself in the way that I see you. Please.  _

 

**_Draco_ **

 

Draco clutched the Snitch in his hand, savoring the flutter of the delicate golden wings against his palm. He knew that catching the Snitch wasn’t enough to save the game. Slytherin had still lost by twenty points. Gryffindor’s Chasers had scored too many times with the Quaffle. But he didn’t care. He had bested Potter, and that was enough.

Potter. Gryffindor.  _ Evie. _ His thoughts went right to her, as they so often did. Draco wondered if she had worn his scarf. Doubt had kept him from looking over to her side the whole game, for fear of disappointment. He finally dared a glance over at the Gryffindor section, stomach in knots.

Draco lost his breath.

She was wearing his scarf. Wrapped tight around her neck. Slytherin green. Not only that, but Evie was hearing her hair down, rather than her usual unkempt braid or bun. The March wind had tossed it about so that it was wild about her face. The cold had flushed her cheeks cherry red, and her blue eyes were bright from watering due to the blustery weather. She was as beautiful as sin. 

Wasn’t that what he was doing? Sinning, by tainting her loveliness with his vulgarity? Did she really want to let the whole school know that they were together? In his heart of hearts, Draco knew that Pansy wouldn’t dare touch Evie if she knew that he was with her. And they could go to Dumbledore and expose her if she tried.  But when it came down to it, he was afraid to expose their relationship, not because of Pansy (though that was part of it) but because he didn’t feel good enough. He wasn’t worthy. 

And then her eyes met his. Evie smiled softly, then pressed her fingertips to her lips and then to the place over her heart. Draco forgot how to breathe again. 

Maybe it was the post-game rush. Maybe it was the fact that he held the Snitch in the palm of his hand. Maybe it was the fact that he had been up high and hadn’t gotten enough oxygen to his brain. Or perhaps it was simply because Evie Marsh looked gorgeous with his House colors on. Who knew the reason. All Draco knew was that he wanted everyone to know that he was the Slytherin whose scarf Evie wore. 

He drove his broom straight to where she stood against the railing of the Gryffindor stands, her eyes growing wide as he approached. 

“Draco, what are you doing?” Evie whispered as he stopped in front of her, his broom hovering so that he was eye level with her. 

“Showing them I’m yours.” He breathed. 

He leaned in and kissed her. Evie froze for a moment, then her mittened hands went up to cup his face. She was smiling against his lips, and Draco found it utterly endearing. He knew he was selfish; he was reaching for the moon by wanting to stand next to her in public, but he wanted to reach. He wanted to be by her side so much that it  _ ached. _

The crowd went ballistic. Hermione let out a scream of delight from next to them, and Draco heard more than a few Gryffindors cry out in alarm at the sight of the Slytherin seeker kissing a Gryffindor. Draco raised his hand and gave them the finger. The noise level increased.

“What happened to not exposing us?” Evie murmured delightedly as he pulled away from her.

Draco shrugged “Who knows. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go deal with my teammates. They’re not going to take this well.”

She laughed. “I don’t know many people who will. We have a lot of explaining to do.”

He smiled. “Worth it. But be careful. Please, don’t wander off alone. I know that you can handle yourself… but I still worry. You know what I’m talking about.”

Evie’s grin faltered, and as much as Draco hated that, he stood by his statement. He wasn’t going to let Pansy hurt her again.

“Don’t worry about that.” Came a determined voice beside them, and Draco looked over to see Granger watching them with arms crossed. “No one will mess with her. Not if I have anything to say about it. And while you may hate them, Harry and Ron feel the same.”

He gave her a curt nod. “Thank you.”

Hermione’s brows rose. “You really are changing him, Evie.”

Draco snorted. “Don’t get your hopes up.” Turning to Evie, he murmured, “I’ll find you after dinner, alright?”

She grinned. “I’m counting on it.”

He couldn’t help but smile fondly at her. Damn it all, she was going to ruin his image. Draco tried to find it in himself to care. He couldn’t. After kissing Evie’s forehead, just because he could, Draco turned his broom and flew towards the Slytherin section. He already felt a headache coming on. Evie was right. They did have a lot of explaining to do. 

 

**_Evie_ **

 

She hadn’t meant to wander off alone. Evie knew that Draco would prefer she stayed with her friends, but he had told her that he didn’t want to compromise her autonomy. She had a right to take a minute to herself. Besides, Draco had wanted to meet her after dinner near the Grand Hall. This was the place they normally met. 

Dinner after the match had been something of a nightmare. She had to fend off the protestations of Ron and Harry, both of whom were shocked and mildly offended that she and Draco were together. After them had come a number of Gryffindor girls who asked a number of  _ very  _ personal questions regarding the scruples of her and Draco’s relationship. She had only been in the Hall for about half an hour but had already developed a slight headache, and she slipped away when people started to lose interest in her. She had a feeling that Draco was dealing with much worse. Slytherins were much harder to persuade. Then again, Draco could use intimidation. Evie smiled slightly to herself at the thought. 

“You really are one gutsy bitch.” Came an all too familiar voice and the smile fell immediately from Evie’s face. Pansy. 

Turning, she sighed. “What is it now, Parkinson?” Evie kept her voice level, but couldn’t hide the way her hand inched towards her pocket. She could only breathe once her wand was in her hand.

“Please. You can drop the act.” Pansy snorted, studying her nails. “We both know that you’re on the verge of wetting yourself. I can see your hands shaking from here.” 

Evie clenched her teeth. “What do you want?” 

“You know, you aren’t as much of a pussy as I thought you were.” The Slytherin girl said. “How long have you and Draco been messing around? You really had me fooled. Not that it matters anymore. This news is going straight to Bellatrix.” 

“Whatever. Tell your warden. I don’t give a damn.” Evie spat. “She’s on the run Pansy. This war is ending, and let’s face it, you’re on the wrong side.” 

“High and mighty Evie Marsh, with her father who works for the Ministry and her poor, poor martyr of a mother.” Pansy hissed, her eyes narrowing. “What a saint you are. It’s no wonder Draco enjoys fucking you. He always did enjoy ruining perfect things.” 

“Watch what you say next very carefully.” Evie hissed, gripping her wand. “You’re treading a fine line.” 

“I wonder,” Her opponent grinned, clearly pleased with having unsettled Evie, for in doing so, she had gained the upper hand in their verbal sparring match. “Does he shudder and grasp your shoulders just before he comes? Does he whimper your name? He always said mine so tenderly. He really is quite selfless in bed.”

“Stop it.  _ Stop _ .”

Her blood boiled, and Evie was helpless to protect herself from the flood of images that ran through her mind of Pansy and Draco together. The fact that she had been intimate with Draco, and was now using it to hurt Evie… she wanted to scream. It was sick. 

“You want me to stop? Make me.” 

Pansy surged forward, and Evie flinched as the Slytherin girl grabbed her by the collar and pulled her close. She smelled like sleet and cigarette smoke. Evie shuddered, and a cruel smile stretched across Pansy’s red, red mouth. Her skin skittered with fear as Pansy took her wand with her other hand and place it just beneath her chin, pressing lightly on the tender skin there. Evie let out a whimper before she could stop herself, the feeling of the Cruciatus Curse still clear in her mind. She couldn’t endure that pain again, that never-ending agony… she shut her eyes to fight the sting of tears. 

“Pathetic. Just as I thought.” Pansy sneered. “What if I reminded you of the power I possess? Wouldn’t that be nice?”

“Please.” Evie pleaded, her eyes snapping open. Adrenaline ran electric through her veins. “Don’t.” 

There was the sudden slap of shoes on the stone floor and the two girls whipped their heads to see Draco coming down the hall. He still was wearing his Quidditch robes, the green cloak twisting about his ankles, hair a mess. Evie felt herself go weak with relief at the sight of him. 

“Draco.” She cried out softly. “Draco.” 

It was at this moment that he noticed them, his eyes going straight to Evie. The speed at which Draco’s expression morphed from relaxed to one that promised death astonished her. Pansy immediately released Evie, whose unstable legs couldn’t support her. She fell to the floor, knees banging against the stone. 

Draco was beside her in an instant, hands cupping her face, forcing her to look at him. His eyes were frantic.   
“Are you alright, Evie? Merlin, did she hurt you?” His voice was ragged. 

Evie shook her head. “I’m fine.” 

She said this, but when he took her by the shoulders to help her up, Evie realized that she was shaking all over. Draco made sure she could stand, then rounded on Pansy, anger writing itself onto every line of his body.

“Stay  _ the fuck  _ away from her!” He growled, and the Slytherin girl flinched. “Do you understand me, Parkinson? Lay a hand on her again and I swear on my Mother’s life that I will make your world a living hell. Do you understand?”

Pansy scoffed, seemingly unfazed by what Draco said, but she backed away from him all the same. “You’re a fool Malfoy. A bloody fool to side with this… this half blood and her friends.”

“Like I give a damn about what you think anymore.” Draco spat and took Evie’s hand. He looked down at her, expression softening immediately. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

She nodded, and Draco ushered her further down the hall, keeping himself between her and Pansy as a sort of human shield. 

“You and Marsh enjoy your time together!” Pansy called after them in a clear final attempt to rattle the pair. “Your Aunt is going to be on her way to Hogwarts the moment she hears about this!” 

“Please. You forget that I was the King of empty “so-and-so will hear about this” threats. Nice try, Parkinson.” Draco snorted and followed after Evie.

“If you say so!” The Slytherin girl clearly wanted the last word. “But you’re running on borrowed time, Draco. Know that.” 

 

* * *

 

_ You’re running on borrowed time. Pathetic. He always did enjoy ruining perfect things.  _ Pansy’s words spun in Evie’s head. She knew them to be lies, but they cut at her all the same. Pushing them out of her mind, she focused instead on Draco, who was walking swiftly ahead of her. Draco, who had said nothing since leaving Pansy behind. 

Finally, he came to a stop, in an empty hallway covered in tapestries. It was near the Room of Requirement. Perhaps he had meant to take her there to talk but had lost his patience during the walk. He turned to Evie, and she could tell from the set of his shoulders and the twist of his mouth that what he was about to say wasn’t going to be good. 

“ _ This, _ ” Draco started heavily, “Is why we never should have revealed that we were together. Merlin, I was such a fucking idiot earlier, kissing you in front of everyone without thinking of the consequences. And now look at what I’ve done.”

“No.” Evie was quick to cut him off. “Don’t you dare blame this on yourself. Pansy was the one who came after me. And I knew that was likely. I wanted this too, Draco. So don’t blame yourself.”

“It doesn’t matter! I should never have gone through with your idea! I was being reckless and stupid, and I almost got you hurt--again.” He raked a hand through his hair. 

“Draco, we can’t live in fear anymore.” Evie stepped towards him, reaching for him, but he pushed her hands away. “It’s too late for regrets.” 

His eyes went cold. “Too late for regrets? You can’t mean that, Evie. My  _ life  _ is one regret after another, don’t you see?” 

“So I’m one of those regrets, am I?”  It was a cheap shot, and they both knew it. Why was she trying to get under his skin so much these days? Why did she keep pushing him? _Am I just trying to see how far I can push this before it breaks? Mione was right. I truly am_ _the thorn in his side._

“Of course not. You know that. Draco turned from her, tugging hand through his hair once more.“Dammit, I know that you can protect yourself. I just…” 

“Just what?”  _ Pushing pushing pushing…  _

“Do you want to know the real reason, Evie?” Draco snapped, taking a step away from her. “Do you want to know why I live in the constant fear and want to protect you? Do you really want to know?”

“Yes.” It was gasp. Tears of frustration pricked at her eyes. “I want to know, Draco. You keep shutting me out. And I don’t want to push you, but how can you tell me that you don’t want to be seen with me in public and not tell me why? How can you act like I can’t protect myself and not explain it?”  _ I need to know. Please, just let me in.  _

“That’s not it.” His shoulders were set in hard lines. “I know that you can defend yourself. And I want to stand by your side,  _ Merlin _ , I want to stand by you.” He turned, blue-grey eyes stripping her bare. His voice was weak. “But I’m always scared and desperate to protect you because I…” 

The air went still. Her heart went still. Everything went still. Then Draco shattered it all with four words. 

“Because I love you.” Draco breathed, then hurried to add, “And I know that doesn’t excuse my micromanaging and--”

Evie cut him off before he could go further. “Really?” 

She was unable to believe what he had just said, her vision going hazy from the film of tears covering her eyes. She blinked them away. Draco stood before her, expression heartbreakingly ardent. 

“Yes.” It came out as a gasp. “I can’t let anything happen to you because I love you. I love you. I love you. I love-” 

Evie launched herself at him, fresh tears filling her eyes as she kissed him hard on the mouth. Pulling back, she let out a broken sob. “I love you too.” 

Something hardened between them at that moment. Those three words solidified something that had already been growing. They both felt it. 

Evie felt herself beginning to unravel, and kissed Draco again in desperation. She pressed her forehead to his, murmuring, “Hermione said that I am the thorn in your side. Is that true?”

He laughed breathlessly. “Yes. You are the thorn in my side, Evie Marsh.”

“But doesn’t it… doesn’t it hurt?” She whispered. 

Draco kissed her before replying. His words were hot against her lips. “Yes, but it’s a sweet kind of pain. I love it, Evie, the way you make me ache.” 

Those words lit a fire under her skin, and just as she had all those months ago in a similar, moonlit hallway, Evie spoke, each word heavy with promise. “I want you.” 

Draco’s eyes blew wide. “You mean…?” He let the sentence hang unended in the air between them. 

She nodded. “I want you--all of you. Because if Pansy was telling the truth and Bellatrix is coming and we’re running out of time… I want it to be you. It’s always been you.”

Draco sucked in a breath, his eyes darkening. “Are you sure?”

“You said once that when you did take me, you wanted me to beg for it.” Evie murmured. “Do you want me to beg?”

Draco cursed, then swept her up into his arms and kissed her fiercely, then grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hall. Luckily, they were near the Room of Requirement, which was fortunate, because neither could go more than a few steps without reaching for the other. By the time they reached it, Draco was already shrugging out of his Quidditch cloak and Evie was tugging off her sweater.

Draco backed her up towards the bed, Evie whimpering when he sucked harshly on her neck. Closer closer closer. She wanted to be closer. Her skin was on fire and she could feel her blood running hot in her veins. Evie fumbled with the braces on Draco’s wrists, huffing in frustration when she couldn’t manage the knots. 

He let out a breathless laugh. “Let me.” 

The wrist braces and then the leather braces on his calves came off. Draco removed his shoes and socks, then lifted Evie’s feet one by one and took hers off as well. He peeled away her knees socks, kissing her ankle and then moving upwards over her calf, pressing love bites into her skin. Every time Draco’s mouth touched her skin, Evie’s body zeroed in on the spot, and the only thing she could feel was his lips.

“When I’m done,” He breathed against her leg, hand sliding up her thigh, close to the hem of her skirt. “I want every inch of your body covered in my marks.”

Evie’s hands were buried in his white blonde hair; she tugged hard. “Draco.” 

It was fifty requests rolled into a single gasp of his name.

He stood and kissed her hard on the mouth, leaving her dizzy before he busied his fingers with the buttons of her blouse. Draco pressed a kiss to her shoulder as he tossed the shirt to the floor.

“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” He said, leaning to kiss her neck.

Evie flushed slightly, fumbling with his Quidditch jersey and undershirt. Draco helped her, yanking the clothes over his head in one smooth movement. She swallowed hard. His skin glowed faintly in the moonlight. She had touched him in the Prefect’s bath, but then he had been covered in steam and bubbles. Now she could see him clearly, the strong lines of his shoulders, the smoothness of his stomach. Dragging her hands across his shoulders before tracing the line of his back. 

Draco let out a groan into the crook of her neck, kissing a scorching trail down her chest, mouthing at one of her breasts over the material of her bra while his hand cupped the other. Evie’s fingers tightened their grip on his back, nails digging in. 

“Can I-” His voice was ragged, she could feel him holding himself--his desire--on a tight leash. 

“Yes.” 

He made quick work of the unhooking her bra. It was odd, having her shirt and bra off before him. Evie felt herself flush but forgot to be embarrassed the moment Draco’s mouth closed over one of her breasts, warm and wet, his hands tracing the scars on her back. The feeling made her back arch and her knees go weak. He sucked--hard, hands anchored at her waist to hold her steady.

Evie let out a soft and strangled moan before she could stop herself, hands moving to pull Draco’s hair and bring his mouth to hers. He obliged, kissing her long and with searing heat. Evie felt as though he had lit a fire beneath her skin, and each touch and kiss made it burn hotter and hotter.

“I feel like I’m on fire.” She gasped. “Draco.” 

“I know, Evie, I know.” He murmured into her mouth, kissing her tenderly before moving downwards, leaving a scorching trial from her collarbones to her chest to her stomach, marks blooming in his wake.

Draco dropped to his knees before her, his hands latched on to the top of her skirt. He looked to her, a question in his eyes. His hair was a wreck, his lips swollen and slick with spit, a flush spreading down his neck to his chest. Evie thought he had never looked more beautiful. She nodded. 

Draco pressed a kiss to her hip, and Evie realized that his hands were shaking slightly as he pulled her skirt down her legs. She stepped out of it and looked down to find Draco’s head bowed. He leaned his forehead against her stomach, mouth dangerously close to the band of her underwear. His hands rested on her waist, touching her carefully. He still seemed to touch her as though he wasn’t sure he was allowed to. Evie covered his hands with her own. Draco curled his fingers into hers, holding them tightly. 

“Draco?” She murmured. “What is it?” 

“I want…” He took a moment to steady himself. “I want to taste you, Evie.” 

She couldn’t stop her blush or the breath that escaped her. “Are you sure?”

Draco huffed a laugh and looked up at her, blue-grey eyes dark and pupils blown. “Yes. I want to make you feel good. May I?”

Her face went even pinker as she nodded. “But I don’t think I can stand. I’m scared I’m going to fall over. My knees feel so weak.”

He laughed again, standing and pressing a chaste kiss to her hip. “Well we wouldn’t want that, would we?” 

She settled back on the bed, watching as Draco shed his pants before crawling a top of her. Oddly, her embarrassment caught up with her, and Evie crossed her arms over her chest. 

Draco’s eyes tracked her expression carefully. “Are you sure that you want this? With me?” 

Her eyes widened. “Yes of course! It’s just… I’m a virgin, Draco. I haven’t done anything like this… and I don’t know if I’ll be good at it.”

He cocked his head. “Who says you have to be good at it? Merlin’s sake, Evie, it’s your first time.”

“But I...” She felt her face flush and covered it with her hands. “I want you to feel good too.” 

Draco gently took her hands, pulling them away from her face. He laughed, and it was a harsh sound that sent a dark, searing heat curling through Evie’s stomach. The moonlight cast shadows upon his face, making his wolfish grin sharp like a knife.

“You don’t get it, do you?” He murmured, kissing her fingers, wrist, and forearm, before gazing up at her through a fringe of dark lashes. Her gut tightened. “You don’t get that just being able to touch you is enough? I just want to make you feel good. I’ve hurt you enough.”

She reached up to cup one of his cheeks. “This isn’t some kind of penance, you know. You don’t have to try and atone for the past with this. I’ve forgiven you.” 

Draco’s eyes fluttered shut, and he leaned into her touch. “I know. You’re right. In that case… consider this a demonstration of my affection.”

With that, he pressed a kiss to her forehead before moving so that he settled down by her waist, hands splayed across her stomach. Evie shuddered as he kissed her hip bones, her hands fisting in the sheets. Draco peeled off her underwear, pulling them gently down her legs. Evie closed her eyes, cheeks heating up in embarrassment. 

Seeming to have sensed her discomfort, Draco rested his head against her hip, breathing harshly. “Is this alright?”

“Yeah. I’m just shy.” She replied. 

“Allow me to distract you then.” He said. 

Draco Malfoy knew how to use his mouth. That was the one thing that Evie could think of when his tongue went flat against the whole of her. Her back arched, but Draco pressed his hands to her hips to keep her from moving too much. Then he began licking and sucking at her core and pressing kisses into the insides of her thighs. She keened when his mouth closed over her clit, eyes squeezing shut and stars sparking behind her closed lids.

His mouth made her melt. Evie moaned soft and long, her grip turning her knuckles white. 

“Tell me if you want to stop, or if this hurts.” Draco murmured, his voice ragged.

“Don’t--don’t stop.” Was all she could manage, and he groaned in reply.  

He slipped a finger inside of her, then another. The stretch was evident, but he was gentle and patient, and Evie realized that he was helping prepare her for what was to come. It made the tightening knot in her gut clench. 

“Draco.” It came out in a gasp. “Please. I need you.”

He looked up at her from between her legs and Evie whimpered softly at the look on his face. It was ravenous. Draco nodded, crawling up the length of her body after shrugging off his briefs. His hands were braced on either side of her head, body hovering slightly about her, but close enough that she could feel the sweet drag of his skin on hers. Evie felt her heart stutter as Draco lined up against her, the length of him velvet soft against her thigh. 

“Will it hurt?” She asked.

Draco kissed her forehead, then rested his own there. “No. But if it does, please tell me. I’ll go slowly, so just relax, okay?”

Evie nodded, wrapping her arms around him and holding onto his shoulders. Draco moved slowly, and she focused on watching his face as he pushed into her. He was breathing hard, clearly holding himself back. His eyes were glazed, his lips parted. Draco groaned as he bottomed out, resting his head on her shoulder.

“Give me a second.” He gasped, forehead sweaty and voice rough. “You’re so tight… I… I don’t want to lose control and hurt you.”

“It’s okay.” Evie breathed shakily, allowing her body to become used to having to accommodate him. 

“I’m gonna move now… is that okay?” 

She nodded, and he pressed a kiss to her shoulder, then pulled away to look at her. Draco smiled softly. 

“You’re so beautiful, Evie.” He breathed, and she smiled shyly.

Then he began to move, slow and sweet like honey. The original ache faded quickly, and Evie forgot that it had even hurt in the first place. The drag of him against her walls was enough to make her toes curl, and knowing that they were one… that she was his and he was hers… Evie breathed Draco’s name, reaching up to thread her fingers through his hair, which was wild about his head. 

Gradually, Draco picked up his pace, until finally, he was pounding into her. It was such a sweet agony, a pleasant ache: the knot in her stomach that kept coiling and tightening. Evie couldn’t stop herself from moaning and calling out Draco’s name like a mantra.

He murmured her name like a prayer, over and over. Evie held tight to him, hands tugging on his hair and face buried in the crook of his shoulder, sucking kiss marks into the creamy skin there.

“Evie. Look at me, please. I want--I want to see your face.” Draco gasped, and she pulled away to meet his eyes. 

They were dark and wide, his mouth open and his chest heaving. So beautiful in the moonlight, she thought absently and cupped his cheek. 

He moaned slightly at the sight of her. “I’m lost without you. Salazar, I’m lost without you.” It was a confession, drawn out in the moonlight and pressed into her skin.

“Draco--don’t stop, please. I’m almost--” She moaned wantonly, feeling herself nearing the edge. 

They were both slick with sweat, and Draco slipped a hand between her legs, pressing fingers to Evie’s clit. It was too much, her head fell back against the bed, her back arching and walls clenching. Draco continued to move within her, milking her through her orgasm. Her eyes squeezed shut as she found her release, sparks exploding behind her vision as she cried out his name. 

“So good.” She whimpered weakly. “It feels so good.” 

“I know, I know. Fuck, Evie, it’s never felt like this before.  _ Evie.”  _ Draco’s thrusts turned messy as he neared his own release, and with one last groan of her name, he came hard, body shuddering against her and his head falling forwards onto her shoulder. They remained connected till Draco pulled out of her seconds later, then fell onto the bed heavily by her side.

They lay there for a few moments, panting and coming down from their respective high. Draco A pleasant ache filled Evie’s muscles, everything feeling soft and honey sweet. Draco propped himself up on an elbow, gazing down at her and brushing the hair away from her face. 

“How do you feel?” He murmured, kissing her sweaty forehead. 

Evie smiled. “Good.” She wrinkled her nose at the feeling between her thighs, where both of their releases was leaking from her. “Sticky.” 

Draco huffed a laugh. “I can help with that.”

Draco sat up, then headed towards the bathroom, returning with a warm towel he wiped her down with. After, he tossed it to the floor and pulled her into his embrace, body warm and pliant against hers. 

“Better?” He asked.

She smiled. “Much.” 

Evie felt her limbs grow heavy, and sleepiness began to overwhelm her. She snuggled closer to Draco, who was happy to receive her. 

“I love you. Most ardently.” He said, pulling the covers up over them. Warmth bloomed in Evie’s stomach at his words.

“I love you too.” She breathed, then drifted off to sleep.

Her last memory before dreams claimed her was of Draco’s lips on her forehead, then her eyelids, then her nose, then her cheeks and then her lips. Each kiss was followed by three words. 

_ I love you.  _


End file.
